Stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Diana Ramirez, Michael Shannon, Jaime Chung, Wolé Parks and Aasif Mandvi Directed by David Koepp joseph Gordon-Levitt has been really busy what with The Dark Knight Rises earlier this season and Looper coming around later in the year, and between these two is this little thriller from Dvid Koepp, normally known as a writer more than for directing. Koepp has had a hand in writing some of the more popular movies, working with directors such as Steven Spielberg (Jurassic Park, War Of The Worlds), Sam Raimi (Spider-Man), Brian DePalma (Carlito's Way, Mission: Impossible, Snake Eyes) and David Fincher (Panic Room). In directing, Koepp has had success with some small and effective thrillers such as Stir of Echoes, The Trigger Effect and Secret Window. His last film was a comedy, Ghost Town. Here, he's tackling an action thriller and what a ride it is. It's still a relatively small film with a simple plot. A bike messenger, Wiley (Gordon-Levitt) has to deliver one little envelope across New York, and he has approximately ninety minutes to do it. On his tail is a cop (Michael Shannon) with an ulterior motive for wanting the envelope as well as a bike cop (Christopher Place) who has been chasing him down for recklessness. Mixed in that is Wiley's crumbling relationship with fellow courier, Vanessa (Diana Ramirez) who might be going with rival Manny (Wolé Parks). What's in the envelope is the MacGuffin, and the overall plot surrounding it takes about half the movie. The rest of the movie is filled with some of the most astounding street level vehicular action filming ever committed to film. It's tough enough when it's car chases, but here we have the stars on bikes speeding and swerving around New York traffic, with the camera following close by. If you ever thought cycling might be boring, the filming and the editing here will convince you otherwise. There's even a little tag midway through the end credits to prove this was filmed on the streets. Gordon-Levitt shines, fully committing to the role, and he does especially well in his scenes with Shannon, who turns in another remarkable performance (see Take Shelter) as the cop whose desperation pushes him into reckless acts. It's their double act that drive the movie while the rest of the supporting cast give solid back-up, especially Ramirez and Parks as fellow couriers. Aasif Mandvi is a blast in his few scenes as their dispatcher. The movie is a thrill ride, probably more so for audiences who aren't trying to figure out is the routes used in the film actually make sense when edited together (say, audiences from New York). There have been cases where numerous locations are used for films but after editing, the locations do not necessarily make sense*. Still, it shouldn't matter as the action itself will keep your mind from wandering too much and the simple plot really drives the overall pace of the movie. I just had to wonder if Koepp using The Who's 'Baba O'Rielly' for the opening would make viewers think they might be watching a CSI movie… *For us in Malaysia, the more notorious bit was in Entrapment, which had Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones on a sampan somewhere in Melaka while the KL Twin Towers loomed over in the background. Or another old film, 'The Dadah Connection', where a traveller arrives in Malaysia via the Penang ferry, gets onto a trishaw, navigates around Penang and somehow gets off at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur. That was a real eye opener for me way back when...
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
December 2017
|