Writer: Peter Chai

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Watch this if you liked: “Breaking Away” and “Quicksilver”

Looking for car-chasing scenes in the world of movies are as easy as ABC but there are times when surely our hearing senses are overwhelmed by the many roaring car engines and long winding highway races. It is time for a change and a chance to experience a new type of exhilaration provided by a different mode of transportation this time around. David Koepp, one of the most successful writer-director in Hollywood has gone onto a different pathway as he picks cycling as the theme of his latest directorial flick "Premium Rush".

"Premium Rush" follows Wilee (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a young street-smart bicycle messenger who gets himself into a dilemma slipping between his duty and risking his own life when he is asked to deliver a mysterious envelope to Chinatown. With the envelope in his delivery bag, Wilee's life turns upside down overnight as he becomes the target of a dirty cop on the busy streets of New York City. Wilee goes on a ride to unearth the truth and the reason behind all the chases to protect himself and those around him.

In "The Dark Knight Rises", Gordon-Levitt impresses by playing a police officer who gives a big hand to Batman in hunting down Bane, but this time he lands on a different kind of situation as the actor switches his position to someone whose life is threatened by a police misconduct. He is definitely cool enough to play the main role Wilee and has the uncanny ability to seduce audiences with his dialogue charms and of course his steady attitude in dodging cars on the busy streets of Manhattan.

The director's tricky effort in utilising flashbacks is able to create plenty room for imagination and successfully builds the excitement to uncover the final outcome of the story. When it comes to the antagonist of the story, Koepp tries to keep it as "down to earth" as possible, therefore do not expect fearful mafia gangs, ruthless super-villains, dream infiltrators or a big-set evil guy battling the protagonist.

The dialogues however could have benefited with more sense of humour, especially for the conversations among the people who are so passionate about surviving on the streets.

Parents might have to think twice on letting their kids watch the movie as the multiple gun shots and mildly crude language that are constant throughout the story do not make for appropriate content for young viewers.

If you're curious on how bicycle riding stands out in an action movie and the way it induces an adrenaline rush on the silver screen, then take yourself on an intense and adventurous ride through "Premium Rush".

Cinema Online, 10 August 2012