(CNN) -- For some reason, moviemakers haven't been falling over themselves to glorify the exciting and heroic lives of bike messengers -- which at least leaves director David Koepp with a clear field. And if it's a two-wheeled, pedal-powered adrenaline charge you're after, this is definitely the movie to watch. Yes, the plot is contrived and stretched much too thin. Yes, the characters are strictly off the peg. And yes, this flick is essentially a one-trick pony. But at least it's something different. "Premium Rush" is loaded with on-road action, scarcely pausing for breath as courier Wilee (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) criss-crosses Manhattan on his austere steel-frame, fixed-gear, no-brakes bone-rattler.
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"Premium Rush" is centered around a group of New York bike messengers
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Joseph Gordon-Levit's character, Wilee, appears to have a bit of a death wish
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There is also a romantic subplot involving Wilee and another of the bikers
Probably to satisfy the moneymen, and maybe to spin out his slim 75-minute story to an hour and a half, @placeholder also throws in a romantic subplot.