It's Better Than You Would Think - Grab a Copy.
For our first install of "Stuff We Like" we are going to mention something we don't sell - DVD/Blue Ray movies - but if you are in to all things fixed, this is worth plunking down your hard earned bucks to get a copy and watch.
"Premium Rush" came out late last summer and wasn't in the theaters for a long run. That's too bad, 'cuz it's a lot better than your average fixed gear movie. After watching dozens of short to medium length videos of talking heads and people doing skid stops and riding up and down the road, we frankly weren't interested in watching another "Fixie Snoozefest" (think Fyxation). Let's be honest here - if you ride fixed, you already know how great and special it is.
So we were prepared for watching a lot of riding up and down the road and people mumbling about riding without brakes - but what a surprise! Since it involves fixed gear bicycles, we knew we would be interested. What we didn't expect is that it would be so much fun to watch. It has plenty of thrills, laughs and a plot that is more complex and interesting than expected. And it's really well made, well acted, and has some lights out fixed and freestyle riding that's actually part of the story and not just tacked on.
Director David Koep knows his stuff - he wrote "Jurassic Park" for Stephen Spielberg and counts "Spiderman" as another screenplay. This one is just as well written and put together, and doesn't rely on CGI for a change. 96% of the action sequences were shot live, from a rather innovative camera setup on a robotic boom mounted to a van that followed the riders through New York City traffic.
Main character Wilee is played perfectly by Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Tommy of "Third Rock from the Sun"), as are the other main characters Vanessa (Dania Ramirez), Manny (Wole Parks), and the psycho detective Bobby Monday(Michael Shannon). You get a backstory on what brought each of them the one fateful moment that opens the movie. But what makes the movie for us is how the fixed gear riding fits into the story.
You see the flow of the riding from Wilee's standpoint, in terms of a ribbon of white that travels through each section that represents a choice of where to go to avoid getting hit, or hitting someone. This is the best representation we have ever seen of what goes through someone's head that is riding street fixed with no brakes.
Wilee rides a white fixie, without any identifying decals, uses a pursuit bar, and locks it up with a forged steel chain with a disc lock padlock. All of this fits in with what you do when you ride and deliver on city streets. Joseph Gordon-Levitt's stunt double, Red Bull sponsored Austin Horse, is the same size and works as a messenger in Manhattan, so the riding is believable, and isn't fake. Scenes were filmed in LIVE Manhattan traffic. Gordon-Levitt learned how to ride a fixie and do skid stops for the film, did some of his own riding, and got 31 stitches from one scene when he crashed through the back of a cab.
A cool moment from the film - Wilee makes the point to Vanessa early on that "you need to remove that brake before it kills you". She finds out, the hard way. This had us all nodding our heads.
There are four different chase scenes involved, culminating in an incredible escape attempt from the NYPD Vehicle Impound. The impound scene is ridden by another Red Bull rider, trials expert Danny MacAskill.
This movie gets 5 "spokes". Interesting extras are a mini feature on how the bike scenes were filmed, and who was used to film the stunts. This one is worth adding to your collection
So we were prepared for watching a lot of riding up and down the road and people mumbling about riding without brakes - but what a surprise! Since it involves fixed gear bicycles, we knew we would be interested. What we didn't expect is that it would be so much fun to watch. It has plenty of thrills, laughs and a plot that is more complex and interesting than expected. And it's really well made, well acted, and has some lights out fixed and freestyle riding that's actually part of the story and not just tacked on.
Director David Koep knows his stuff - he wrote "Jurassic Park" for Stephen Spielberg and counts "Spiderman" as another screenplay. This one is just as well written and put together, and doesn't rely on CGI for a change. 96% of the action sequences were shot live, from a rather innovative camera setup on a robotic boom mounted to a van that followed the riders through New York City traffic.
Main character Wilee is played perfectly by Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Tommy of "Third Rock from the Sun"), as are the other main characters Vanessa (Dania Ramirez), Manny (Wole Parks), and the psycho detective Bobby Monday(Michael Shannon). You get a backstory on what brought each of them the one fateful moment that opens the movie. But what makes the movie for us is how the fixed gear riding fits into the story.
You see the flow of the riding from Wilee's standpoint, in terms of a ribbon of white that travels through each section that represents a choice of where to go to avoid getting hit, or hitting someone. This is the best representation we have ever seen of what goes through someone's head that is riding street fixed with no brakes.
Wilee rides a white fixie, without any identifying decals, uses a pursuit bar, and locks it up with a forged steel chain with a disc lock padlock. All of this fits in with what you do when you ride and deliver on city streets. Joseph Gordon-Levitt's stunt double, Red Bull sponsored Austin Horse, is the same size and works as a messenger in Manhattan, so the riding is believable, and isn't fake. Scenes were filmed in LIVE Manhattan traffic. Gordon-Levitt learned how to ride a fixie and do skid stops for the film, did some of his own riding, and got 31 stitches from one scene when he crashed through the back of a cab.
A cool moment from the film - Wilee makes the point to Vanessa early on that "you need to remove that brake before it kills you". She finds out, the hard way. This had us all nodding our heads.
There are four different chase scenes involved, culminating in an incredible escape attempt from the NYPD Vehicle Impound. The impound scene is ridden by another Red Bull rider, trials expert Danny MacAskill.
This movie gets 5 "spokes". Interesting extras are a mini feature on how the bike scenes were filmed, and who was used to film the stunts. This one is worth adding to your collection
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