Premium Rush Review
Riding the streets of Manhattan on a bike at 50mph with no breaks is better than sitting in an office all day. That’s what Wilee (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) believes. Wilee is a bike messenger, a guy in his twenties who loves his job. Though the money isn’t great, the thrill is, and that’s what keeps him going. However things dramatically change the day he picks up an envelope to deliver. It starts out like an average day; but things rapidly go downhill when he finds out the envelope has something extremely important in it, which attracts the interest of the villain, Detective Monday. Now Wilee is on the run (on a bike), continuously being chased by police, while hoping to find the significance of the envelope. Premium Rush is an action drama, one with a lot of violence and a lot profanity.
Rating: 3 out of 5 buckets
Release Date: December 21, 2012
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 13+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language:Excessive
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will Kids Like It? Yes
Talking Points:
Wilee is a good, likable character. He’s a simple guy who enjoys the rush of riding his bike through the big city. He risks his life to protect a woman and her child.
The action and premise of the film will appeal to boys, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (the actor who played Wilee) will attract teenage girls.
I did not like the fact that the villain in the film is a detective. He is a cruel and controlling man. Kids should know they can trust a police officer, and not feel threatened by him. He was also addicting to gambling.
Sexual Content: Mild
- Two characters passionately kiss.
- After an intense bike chase, a women says, “That was the most fun I ever had with my clothes on!” I heard kids laughing in the theater.
Violent Content: Excessive
- While Wilee and other bike messengers ride their bikes through Manhattan, we see several bike crashes. The bikers smash into gates, fall off their bikes, hit vehicles, and tumble over railings. We see many cuts and bloody wounds.
- In one scene Wilee envisions different bike routes he might take to avoid a crash. We see some disturbing scenarios; one with Wilee smashing into a baby carriage, one with a truck running over a pedestrian, and another with Wilee bouncing on the hoods of 3 cars. These visions may disturb young kids!
- Detective Monday is the villain. He’s a vicious character; he beat a man to death, grabbed a woman by the neck and threatened to kill her, and physically abused Wilee as well.
Crude or Profane Language: Excessive
- The f-word was said once. There was swearing throughout the whole film, words such as, “sh-t,” “d–n,” “h—,” “a–,” “b–tard,” “b–ch,” “douche bag,” and “balls” were said.
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
- We see characters in a bar drinking.
Will Kids Like It? Yes
- Kids will like the suspense and the bike chases.
Kids, especially boys, will most likely enjoy this film. However, parents need to be aware of the disturbing violent scenes, and the excessive profane language used throughout the film. Depending on the child, I feel this is appropriate for kids ages 13 and up.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.