Adrenaline Rush opens with a bang (in many ways) as we are introduced to their leader, legendary biker Gi-Soo, a handsome, cool and moody tween with no regard for rules. Behind him is Chun-Sim - an old girlfriend who is trying to keep up on her moped and in tears at the thought of him with another woman. Behind her - Kim Myeong-Sik tries to keep up as he screams out her name, pushing his Papa Johns Pizza delivery bike to its limits!
As they run a red light, all hell breaks loose causing a massive traffic collision that sends Chun Sim sliding under an oil tanker. Concerned for his ex, Gi-Soo zooms up an overturned car and jumps it - just as the tank explodes...
If you aren't already laughing by this point of the film, you may as well give up. I'm a huge fan of Adrenaline Rush with its daft humour and madcap action scenes. Its like a Fast N Furious movie directed by Chow Sing Chi!
Some time passes by the time the title card shows, and Gi-Soo is working as a courier on his motorbike. He seems slightly wiser, and a little more mature and gets a call for about his next collection which leads him back to Chun-Sim. Now a big star singer of a girl band, Chun-Sim gets on the back and claims his helmet. Suddenly, things take a turn for the worst as a mysterious call reveals a bomb is in the headgear, and will explode if she removes it or if they separate more than 10 feet (due to the hi-tec wrist watch he wears).
Their mission begins, to start making deliveries for the mysterious caller - most of which turn out to be more bombs! Unfortunately, Chun-Sim has a concert to do first with her girl group, which she does, while still wearing her helmet resulting in some hilarious moments as they try to stay close.
Adrenaline Rush is just mental!! It goes 100mph and hardly lets up from its great action and chase scenes - incorporating some smart CGI for its wilder shots and moments - and is ridiculously funny on many levels. Ye-Won Kang is just hilarious as Chun-Sim - and the cute Min-Ki Lee does a great job as Gi-Soo. Both actors work so well together and had preciously shared the screen in the 2009 Korean disaster flick, Tidal Wave, as did In-Kwon Kim who plays the trainee-cop determined to stop Gi-Soo and win the heart of Chun-Sim!
Incidentally - this was made by the very same producers behind Tidal Wave also.
As the madness continues, more and more crazy action fills the screen, more twists in the plot are revealed, and Gi-Soo's love is put to the test when Chun-Sim (complete with a bomb strapped to her) becomes a hostage resulting in a climax on a speeding train. I'll not give away too much more, but I did like how the bad guy had a genuine reason for being pissed off in the end...
This UK release of Adrenaline Rush races in at 80 minutes. The original Korean cut is listed at 1 hour and 55 minutes, so I'd like to see what a difference that makes to the whole feel of the film. As it stands, this is probably the most fun I've had in 80 minutes in a long time, and I loved it. Be sure to stick around for some NG's and making of shots during the end credits for some interesting stunts and bike work.
Overall: Adrenaline Rush is wild, wacky and a lot of fun!!
