Another movie that opened around the time ParaNorman did and one that’s done even less business. I’ll make it quick, but the movie is a solid-B, and deserved a little better than to be dumped in theaters and forgotten a month later. And, just in case you don’t know, the movie stars Joseph Gordon Levitt as a bicycle messenger who gets a package that a stressed-out, in debt cop needs to clear a gambling debt.
What Works: The bicycle chase scenes are exciting, different, and elevate the movie all on their own. JGL makes for a surprising enough action hero, Dania Ramirez (as his girlfriend) is always smoking hot, but this movie really belongs to Michael Shannon as an even more unlikely villain. His cop doesn’t start out corrupt but keeps getting the heat turned up on him as he makes a series of bad gambling decisions. This is the first movie I can remember where the villain is under more duress than the hero, and I think that (along with what the actual package is…who needs it and what it’s buying, fascinating to learn more about the Hawala system) adds enough newness to the film to definitely make it worth a watch.
What Doesn’t Work: Is Shannon’s performance also over the top? Sure, I can’t argue with that, but there are those of us that miss the gloriously gonzo performances of Christopher Walken villains and this satisfies that need. However, there’s a second antagonist in this movie, a fellow messenger who hates JGL’s character for no good reason and tries to steal his girlfriend and his thunder as a top dog bicycler, that just feels annoying. He’s playing a certain type of alpha athlete that’s believable, but that doesn’t mean he’s not a jerk with no second dimension.
What I Would Have Done Differently: The ending feels abrupt. The movie is a too-short 91 minutes, and I think they could have added at least five more minutes to round out some of the rougher patches of the narrative, as well as offer up a less-“rushed” ending…okay, shoot me now for making a bad pun.