PREMIUM RUSH is a very silly Hollywood action thriller with a difference: all of the action involves a bicycle courier in New York finding himself chased by a corrupt cop. The film is very odd in tone, feeling like a kid's film throughout with goofy humour and stylistics, and yet featuring a torrent of bad language that automatically raises the rating.

The nice-but-bland Joseph Gordon-Levitt takes the lead role, an innocent who just so happens to be a whiz on wheels. The surprisingly dire Michael Shannon is the villain of the piece; I love this guy in most of his stuff, such as BOARDWALK EMPIRE, but he's embarrassingly hammy here, trying really hard to be quirky and funny but never succeeding. Dania Ramirez is the token pretty girl along for the ride.

The film's action scenes are watchable and fast-paced, but blighted by CGI effects which are embarrassingly bad in places; you'll think you're watching an Asylum movie. The plot has no place in the real world so a massive suspension of disbelief is required. The end result is a missed opportunity, although not without wasted potential.

Wilee (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a high risk bike messenger. Bobby Monday (Michael Shannon) is a corrupted cop who's desperate for what Wilee is carrying. That's as simple as it gets. There isn't much more substance in the story.

The story is simplistic and reasonable. The involvement of the snakeheads allow a minimal semblance of substance in the writing. Make no mistake, this is about the action. And it's got great exciting NYC street racing action. David Koepp is the writer/director here. He's a prolific Hollywood writer and has directed a couple of good thrillers. In this one, he used all of his action skills.

David Koepp is better known as a script fixer. The kind of guy Spielberg calls in to finish the final draft of a screenplay before it's locked for shooting.

Whereas you might have some kids trying to climb a damaged electric fence to escape some attacking dinosaurs. Koepp will insert a scene to show that power is being restored but the kids are unaware of this.

Once power is restored the fence will be electrified, so they better climb that fence quick and not get eaten by the dinosaurs or get fried. You get the drift.

Premium Rush which he co-wrote as well as directed is an attempt to do something more personal. He might have a lower budget than some of the action adventure films he is better known for but at least he managed to attract talent such as Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Michael Shannon.

We enter the world of courier bicyclists. Being from Britain I don't get the hate these bikers get, but apparently they are seen as a pest in New York City.

Shannon gives a rather offbeat performance as a bent cop and Levitt shows charisma and heart as the courier cyclists trying to deliver a package whilst evading the crooked cop and still manages to provide a few laughs as well.

The McGuffin to this story is not all that, as if Koepp needed a script fixer himself to come up with a stronger plot and the climax might leave some people rather subdued.

The bike scenes are fun and it makes a change from car chase scenes in New York city.