Los Banditos UK DVD Synopsis: Addicted to speed, and oblivious to the rules of the road, courier Kim finds himself with a shipment that's delivery is a matter of life and death. An unwitting piece in a sick game, Kim is trapped on his motorcycle with a time sensitive bomb that threatens to kill him at every turn, forcing him to follow the instructions of a mystery phone voice, making him decide if he is prepared to become a murderer or murdered. Kim has two choices – follow the rules or end up as road kill! (80 Mins)

 

Views: Adrenaline Rush opens with a bang (in many ways) as we are introduced to its lead guy, 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 over an overturned car and jumps the tanker – just as it 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. It's like a Fast & Furious movie directed by Chow Sing Chi and doesn't let up for a single minute...

 

Some time passes, and Gi-Soo is now working as a courier on his motorbike. He seems slightly wiser and a little more mature. He gets a call about his next collection which happens to lead him back to Chun-Sim who is now a big star singer of a girl band. Excited to see him, Chun-Sim gets on the back of his bike and claims his only helmet. Almost instantly, things take a turn for the worst as a mysterious call reveals that 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). As the panic sets in, 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 attend while still wearing her helmet. This scene alone had me roaring as it leads to some hilarious moments as the two of them try to stay close.

 

Adrenaline Rush is just mental!! It goes 100mph and hardly slows down due to 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: Fast, funny and furious, Adrenaline Rush is wildly entertaining and a lot of fun!!

 

Los Banditos DVD Extras: TV Spot, Trailers, Making Of Documentary...