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Bike messenger movie promises thrills and spills

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The cinematic representation of the bicycle in recent years hasn’t been great so we were intrigued to see a trailer uploaded on Friday by Sony Pictures for a new movie about cycling.

However, this is not any old movie. This movie will focus on the world of the bike messenger and his obligatory Fixed Gear bike.

The plot

The movie, which is called Premium Rush, is an action-packed thriller about a New York City bike messenger who picks up an envelope that attracts the interest of a dirty cop, who then pursues the messenger throughout the city. Cue lots of aggressive bike riding, tricks and of course rule breaking.

Negative image?

The bike messenger, played by actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt (you’ll know him from US comedy 3^rd Rock from the Sun and latterly he was in Inception), is of course the hero in the movie but in the meantime the movie no doubt reinforces the impression that us cyclists are a reckless bunch when out cycling in the urban sprawl of a city.

The Youtube description of the trailer put up by Sony Pictures says as much while the trailer also does nothing to suggest that the majority of us are law abiding citizens:

“Dodging speeding cars, crazed cabbies, open doors, and eight million cranky pedestrians is all in a day’s work for Wilee (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), the best of New York’s agile and aggressive bicycle messengers. It takes a special breed to ride the fixie — super lightweight, single-gear bikes with no brakes and riders who are equal part skilled cyclists and suicidal nutcases who risk becoming a smear on the pavement every time they head into traffic.”

Watch the trailer below. We look forward to seeing the final cut when the film debuts in early 2012.

See also

Day of action for climate change

An art project out of parts

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