Wilee (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is one of the best bicycle couriers in Manhattan, but when he is tasked with delivering a seemingly harmless envelope this ends up having far reaching repercussions for Wilee when corrupt cop Bobby Monday (Michael Shannon) becomes hell-bent on getting his hands on what is inside this envelope and begins pursuing Wilee all across New York...As a screenwriter David Koepp is fairly accomplished - he has penned screenplays to a lot of good films such as Panic Room, Spider-man, Mission Impossible, Jurassic Park and Carlito's Way. In this respect, Premium Rush does still work (even if it's not as good as some of the better films that Koepp has been responsible for when he merely served as a screenwriter).Perhaps part of the problem with this film with Koepp as far as being a director is his rather limited and repetitive approach to the way everything is presented; the quick editing and Wilee's ability to assess the safest route through NYC's traffic at the blink of an eye are astonishing to look at but in the long run look a bit gimmicky and over-the-top and not to mention implausible and totally ridiculous. Although Koepp keeps his foot on the gas for the most part, the first 20 minutes or so of this picture are quite dull - Wilee has an awkward relationship with his girlfriend and some other guy is trying to muscle in and steal Wilee's girlfriend away from him - really? Who the hell cares? Thankfully, this uninteresting love triangle only proved to be a minor irritant as it only served as a problem in the early stages of the film - Koepp has it banded around here and there in the latter stages of the film, but due to the frantic pace later in the film it does serve as much of a problem later in the film.As a storyteller, Koepp is quite good and in all honesty Premium Rush isn't a bad story once you get down to the nitty gritty and on the surface it does have some heart to it. Having said that though, at its core it is about a mother trafficking her son illegally from the China to the USA and although in one way it's heart-warming on the other hand it's also illegal which makes it a morally queasy and controversial foundation upon which to set one's story.Having said that if you just go with the flow with this one and take it for what it is then it is reasonably entertaining (despite some ridiculous contrivances at the end such as Bob Monday agreeing to let Wilee have his bike back before he's confirmed that he actually has the ticket which effectively leads to his inevitable escape). It's a good film as long as you don't think about it too much...

I'm not sure which is worse - the writing or the acting. What is even worse is that some people rated it higher than 2. If you're 12 years old or younger I guess the action would be "cool". I have never rated a movie before but this warranted one just to keep others from wasting their time hoping this film would get better after the 1st couple of chapters.

Be careful on the streets of New York. You'll find mayhem, close- calls, accidents, rude behavior, violence, danger; and that's just from the bicycle messengers.Premium Rush is the story of one of those messengers (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who must make an important and urgent delivery through Manhatten rush-hour traffic. Gordon-Levitt's character, Wilee, is such a maniac that he rides a bike without brakes, derailleur gears or de rigueur rails. Joining Wilee on this thrill ride are Manny (Wolé Parks) and Vanessa (Dania Ramirez). I don't know if this film is supposed to make us feel some sympathy for the plight of the downtrodden bicycle messenger, but I personally was rooting for the bad cop (Michael Shannon) to throw them all in the calaboose for being the dangerous road rascals that they are.The acting is uneven at best. Ramirez must have gone to the Scowling-Is-Acting School for Young Thespians. Not that she can't make a career out of a scowl. Bruce Willis has been a show-biz success for nearly 30 years with no discernible asset other than a smirk. Shannon's acting isn't much better. I've enjoyed his previous work in Boardwalk Empire and the excellent Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. Here, however, he vacillates between a tough-as-nails Cagney-like bad guy to an exasperated high-pitched whining comic- relief character reminiscent of Curly Howard.Most of the film's 90 minutes, is spent wheeling on bicycles through traffic. I found it rather tiresome (ha ha! get it? tiresome... tire... you know... bicycle... forget it).If it's bicycles and a thrilling chase that you have a craving for, watch two movies - Breaking Away and Bullitt. You'll get the fix you need and see two infinitely better films in the process.

Premium Rush has a simple premise which with the help of director and screenwriter David Koepp develops into something that will keep you thrilled for the next 90 minutes. The movie deals with the story of Wilee played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who is a bike messenger, whose troubled journey begins after he receives an envelope which of course he'll have to deliver, but during this journey of his,he'll meet with some complications along the way. The movie is a thrilling ride from the start to finish, happening almost in real time, almost, because there are a few flashbacks and a few moments that are happening from Wilee's POV, that are offering the movie some comic relief. There are long chase scenes that are well done and they are keeping your heart beat at a high rate. The events in the movie are happening very fast, when you hoped that you'll finally get a moment in which you can catch your breath, Wilee gets in other troubles. Sometimes these troubles are meeting, so they aren't there just for the sake of adding some extra screen time, each character having a purpose in the movie. Michael Shannon does a terrific as he always does and the other supporting cast also does a good job, helping a lot to keep the movie even more energetic. The only problem of the movie are the flashbacks, that are telling the back story of some characters, which aren't as compelling as the rest of the movie, most of them already being familiar, despite this the movie really succeeds in making the characters lovable, due to the actors good job as it was mentioned before. The final of the movie is compelling, each character getting what he or she deserved after such a long ride. This movie is advisable for those who like action packed movies, not the Michael Bay types, but the more grounded ones like this, the movies that are aiming on immersing the viewer with its story and thrills, rather than just with enormous set pieces and flying CGI monsters or robots or flying CGI robot monsters.