It seems kind of ridiculous to base an action thriller around bike messengers. I mean, chase scenes are nothing without the horsepower and collateral damage cars bring to the screen, right?

The people behind "Premium Rush" disagree, and aim to convince audiences of the same with this whirlwind two-wheeled ride. At its center is Wilee (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a daring cyclist thrust into a dangerous game of cat and mouse after he's tasked with delivering a mysterious envelope. He finds himself doggedly pursued by Michael Shannon's character, Bobby Monday, and soon comes to realize his problems may be more serious than stealthy maneuvers can handle.

Gordon-Levitt is perfect in this lead role. Wilee is witty and affable, and his performance is as quick as the movie's pace. Shannon's Monday gets his fair share of screen time to produce the plot's main conflict, bringing the intensity with his comically unhinged antagonist – a characteristic that sets the tone for the movie, for better or for worse.

Although it's unlikely movie-goers will walk into "Premium Rush" expecting a typical action movie, those who do will catch on quickly. The very first scene – Wilee flying in slow motion across the shot after being thrown from his bike – captures the movie's tongue-in-cheek action sensibility to a tee.

It's an unconventional approach to an unconventional plotline, and once the audience starts picking up what "Premium Rush" is putting down, it becomes a lot of fun to watch. That learning curve, however, makes the exposition difficult to navigate and unfortunately the entertainment value suffers at the outset as viewers work to figure out whether they walked into an action/comedy or just an unintentionally funny action movie.

Once things get sorted out and the plot starts moving, though, it's hard not to like "Premium Rush." Its moves are as streamlined as Wilee's hypothetical bike paths (a slick visualization that, while a little cheesy, is still cool). The bike stunts littered throughout the movie go far in keeping the audience engaged, and the subplots (Wilee's romance with fellow bike messenger Vanessa and rivalry with Manny, among others) keep things moving.

That's not to say the plot doesn't wobble at times under the weight of its quirky mix of characters and coincidences – it certainly does. It's just hardly enough to matter. In spite of that (and a pretty campy climax), "Premium Rush" is clever, easy to follow and just plain fun.