Rush (Digital Playground) Review

Studio
Digital Playground

Genre
Feature

Director
Nic Andrews

Starring
Devon, Alexa, Avy Scott, Jezebelle Bond, Barrett Blade, Mike Horner, and Cheyne Collins

Running Time
1:37

DVD Format
Single Sided, Dual Layer (DVD-9)

Aspect Ratio
1.66:1 (letterboxed)

Special Features
Animated main menu with full motion video; animated menu transitions; FMV chapter selection menu; audio commentary track with Nic Andrews, Barrett Blade, and Devon; 18-minute "making of" featurette; 4-minute blooper reel; multi-angle crash sequence footage; 7-minute video on the concept of Rush; orginal screenplay; 33-picture photo gallery (mix of hardcore and softcore); and trailers for Rush and Devon Stripped

Typical Watchers
Devon fans and anyone who is looking for a story-oriented movie with good production values

Typical Haters
Raincoaters and action snobs (if you want to see massive gun battles or martial arts, go see a mainstream shoot-'em-up!)

Replay Value
Medium

Themes
Couples movie, action movie theme, tattoos, piercings, vanilla sex, girl-girl, prostitution

Condoms
Yes, used for intercourse during Alexa/Mike & Devon/Cheyne scenes

If You Liked This DVD, You Should Enjoy
Devon Stripped

After the success of his first movie with Digital Playground, Devon Stripped, director Nic Andrews turns to the adult action genre in his second DP production, Rush. Bringing back two of the stars of Stripped, Devon and Barrett Blade, Andrews combines multiple practical shooting locations, professional camera work, and stunts to deliver an adult feature that could hold its own against quite a few action B-movies.

Tattooed former musician Barrett Blade plays Carter Hayes, a heistman who breaks out of prison to retrieve a million dollars he hid before being betrayed by one of his two partners. The other partner, Victor, wants Carter dead. Along the way to the desert stash site, he picks up Sera (Devon), a call girl who finds hope for a better life in the unlikely person of Carter. Together, they make a run for Mexico and a second chance at life.

While the story isn't that horribly inventive, especially The Shawshank Redemption homage, it makes for an above average porn feature. Not only do you have the sex (which I'll get to in a minute), but the production values are a cut above most of what the industry has to offer. The title sequence rivals that of a television show, the weapons sequences are among the most involved that I've seen in adult, and the filming locations add to the road movie atmosphere.

Rush has only five sex scenes (compared to the average of 6-7 in most big budget adult features), but they capture your attention from the first one with Alexa. I'm not sure that she's looked more tempting than she does playing the squeeze of the owner of the junkyard where the movie starts. Braless, dressed in a white tank top, and sucking on a lollypop, her scene with Mike Horner is really hot. Although I probably could do without seeing her getting fucked by an aging, greasy guy, this scene is bound to get you in the right mood, right at the beginning.

Playing the role of a hooker, Devon has the opportunity to turn up the heat a little bit during her three boy-girl scenes. Two of them are with her real-life boyfriend, Barrett, so the two dispense with the condom that we are more than accustomed to seeing guys fucking Devon wearing. I'm normally not a big condom hater, but the eye candy that results from seeing his bare, big cock sliding in and out of her is welcome. Or maybe it's the psychological thrill of knowing that they're not using a rubber or that they are real-life lovers?

The last two scenes are a pretty good fuck between Cheyne Collins (who fortunately screws better than he can act) and Devon and a poolside muff munching with cute brunette Jezebelle Bond and big-titted Avy Scott. I like the abundant finger-fucking action but the enjoyment is tempered by the weather: it looks windy and cold, and I can only imagine how comfortable being wet and outdoors in the desert when the wind is going.

Of the three Digital Playground features Nic has released through the end of 2003, Rush falls in between the more story-rich Stripped and the rip-off of the mainstream thriller The Game in his third film, No Limits. All three put many of the so-called feature studios to shame, but I still think that Stripped is the best of the three. Still, if you're looking for something with both sex and action in it, I can't think of another adult movie that does both as well as Rush.

- Saki (saki@sakivision.com)