“Premium Rush”

★★★ 1/2 (out of four)

The films stays tight and lean, even as it jumps back and forth in time to establish some backstory on the contents of the envelope — seemingly nothing more than a movie ticket with a smiley face drawn on it — and why the man is willing to kill Wilee to get it. Writer/director David Koepp (better known as a writer, with credits ranging from “Jurassic Park” and “Spider-Man” to “The Paper” and “Panic Room”) deserves kudos for keeping things stylish and well-edited, and moving the story along at a good clip to reach a satisfying payoff.

“The Expendables 2”

★★ 1/2

“The Expendables 2” seemed inevitable, and the idea of a franchise was most welcome — especially after it was promised that the sequel would amp up the action and camaraderie with the addition of full supporting roles for genre icons Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Chuck Norris and Jean-Claude Van Damme (the first two appeared in the first film in cameo roles). The idea of these guys uniting for a giant orgy of ass kicking and bubblegum chewing was enough to make any action fan giddy with excitement, and it seemed like the kind of thing that couldn’t possibly go wrong: assemble the players, give them lots of guns, make a lot of stuff go boom — voila, instant awesomeness!

“The Bourne Legacy”

★★ 1/2

This spin-off (skillfully directed by veteran screenwriter and Oscar-nominated filmmaker Tony Gilroy, of “Michael Clayton” fame) uses the Jason Bourne saga as a backdrop to tell the story of Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner), who, like Bourne, was part of a government research program aimed at creating physically and intellectually superior super-spies. Unlike Bourne, Cross remembers who he is and what he’s done, and becomes the target of government assassins once the Bourne situation goes public.