Film Club feels the Rush
So last week our Film Clubbers checked out Joseph Gordon-Levitt flick (just how many does he have coming out this year?) Premium Rush. Time to find out what they thought…don’t forget to avoid those spoilers!
ROSANNA ‘Well, my first thought after watching the film was – ‘what on earth was Joseph Gordon-Levitt thinking?!’ He’s pretty much A-list these days – but this film screamed B MOVIE.’
‘I tried to like it, honestly, but it left me totally indifferent. There was no depth, little logic and aside from some impressive bicycle stuntwork it was highly unmemorable. Soz!’
‘There’s nowt wrong with a B-movie, but I often feel short-changed when I see one on the big screen. It’s the type of film you’d watch on TV on a rainy Bank Holiday afternoon.’
‘Theoretically it’s good that bike chases are a different concept to cars (I’m clutching at straws here) – but it wasn’t that impressive. It was just one long, repetitive chase movie. I was bored.’
PETER ‘It’s definitely the OTHER Joseph Gordon Levitt movie of the year. I doubt it will hold a candle to Looper and it definitely didn’t match Dark Knight Rises. Still a lot of fun though!’
‘It might sound silly, but I wanted more action/stunts/chases. The characters were a bit lacking mind you.’
‘It shouldn’t suffer from not being as well-known as JGL’s other movies; it’s just not the sort of film that people are going to ‘rush’ to see. But his presence might get more people interested than if it had been, say, Taylor Lautner.’
‘I love Koepp’s scripts, where he takes a simple set up and milks it for all that it’s worth. Panic Room is the perfect example!’
CHRIS M ‘Premium Rush – a novel take on the chase movie, with a wafer thin plot bolstered by some ingenious touches.’
‘It was most certainly all about the mechanics of the chases. The plot was gossamer-thin and the characters too.’
‘I quite enjoyed this; it surprised me with its slightly skewed take on the chase movie. Shannon and Levitt were eminently watchable and although it’s not going to win any awards it was a fun way to spend an afternoon.’
CHARLOTTE ‘This was a lot of fun. It was a novel idea to see bike chases and the crashes were pretty spectacular too. I enjoyed them a lot!’
‘I thought the chases were very exciting because the characters were always having to navigate so many obstacles; cars, pedestrians, taxis going off-duty and passengers exiting them. Loved it.’
‘I have to constantly remind myself that JGL is the same guy that appeared in Third Rock from the Sun. He has grown so much as an actor. Some of his choices have been inspired – Inception and 50/50 in particular.’
JILL ‘I chose to see this as I felt in the mood for something fun and it hit the spot. OK it’s not Joseph Gordon-Levit’s usual quality performance and the storyline is daft but hey, sometimes that’s what you are looking for!’
‘And I did like the bit at the end in the credits where he had actually come off the bike and hurt himself…’
CHRIS R ‘I enjoyed it, it was so different to other films this year which I found really refreshing.’
‘The cinema we went to was quiet, I think there was only one other person in there. I think this film has had hardly any promotion at all so it’s maybe suffered a bit.’
‘I think it’s good to see an actor do something different, and Premium Rush is completely different to JGL’s other films. That’s probably what appealed to him.’
‘I highly rate him as an actor. He’s great in 500 Days of Summer, one of the first films I saw him in as an adult. I think he’ll have a long career.’
GINA ‘I went in with low expectations, but actually quite enjoyed it – can’t say I’ve seen many bicycle chases in movies so it was rather refreshing. Definitely a B-movie, but enjoyable none the less.’
STEVE ‘A very enjoyable action-flick. Sometimes you don’t want to think too much about a film and this was ideal for that sort of thing.’
‘At first I found it hard to see JGL as anyone other than Tommy from Third Rock From The Sun, but he has really turned that round with his impressive performances in a variety of films. He’s part of a group of great upcoming actors who’ve really shown their ability in the last few years – along with Tom Hardy and Ryan Gosling.’
Joseph Gordon-Levitt is having what we’d call a banner year. Sure, this is definitely the ‘lesser’ of the multiple movies we’ve seen him in this year, but its pretty fun all the same.
It’s daft, yes, and plausibility is clearly not a priority but the bike chases are seriously impressive and a nice change from all those action movies where people bomb after each other in cars.
Director David Koepp uses a few nifty tricks to keep us on our toes, switching up the timeline and having part of the action take place via sat-nav, but he can’t quite hide the fact that both his plot and his characters are a teeny bit one-note.
That said, JGL is always watchable and he’s equally good here, managing to deliver some borderline dialogue without damaging his A-list cred. Pity the same can’t be said for Jamie Chung.
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Yeah great review. Surely it’s fun enough to keep people entertained, especially with JGL being so damn charismatic but it’s not going to change your life. But then it doesn’t set out to.