After hits like Inception, 50/50, and The Dark Knight
Rises, there are few actors in Hollywood with careers as white hot as
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and with his current levels of popularity, he has the
rare freedom to pick any project he might desire. Perhaps it is that kind of freedom that would
allow someone to choose a film centered on New York City bicycle messengers and
to try and sell it to audiences as an action film during the Summer Movie
Season. Despite trailers that worked
very hard to try and prove that this upcoming release would be full of
adrenaline, I still couldn’t ignore the ominous fact that this particular
project had its release delayed several times by the decision-makers at Sony
Pictures, something that is rarely a good sign.
As ridiculous as the premise for Premium
Rush might sound to the casual moviegoer, there was still the chance that
the project, in the hands of someone as talented as Joseph Gordon-Levitt, could
prove an entertaining box office ringer as August was closing. Even with the tremendously high opinion that
I hold for Joseph Gordon-Levitt, I was still somewhat skeptical concerning Premium Rush, which had no hope of
reaching a middle ground; either it was going to be the surprise hit of the
summer or represent a pretty significant cinematic failure.
While Premium Rush certainly does have its positive moments, the project
in its entirety was far too reliant on the performance of Joseph Gordon-Levitt,
who even with all his talent was unable to save a risky narrative that was
ultimately doomed by confused writing, sub-par characters, and lackluster “action”
sequences. Granted, it was entertaining
to see some of the deeper elements bicycle messenger subculture, but in no way
was that subject material enough to carry a feature-length story and hold
audience attention. Director David Koepp
certainly tried to inject some interesting non-diegetic elements intended to
deepen the elements onscreen, but anything new wore thin very quickly and the
film instead resorted to several familiar movie clichés. Perhaps the biggest misstep of Premium Rush is Michael Shannon as the
villain, who is inept far more often than he is genuinely threatening, a
shortcoming that is likely a result of the writers not knowing what direction
they ultimately wanted to take the character.
No one can deny that one of the Summer 2012 Movie Season’s final offerings
was a significant gamble, and the simple reality is that this gamble didn’t pan
out…what a shame.
