Charm City Kings

It certainly sounds familiar: A gritty coming-of-age drama set on urban streets rife with pervasive crime and lingering friction between residents and cops.

To its credit, however, Charm City Kings doesn’t fall victim to easy cliches or stereotypes. Rather, this evocative fictionalized adaptation of the captivating 2013 documentary 12 O’Clock Boys shouldn’t be dismissed merely as a genre knockoff, like Boyz N the Hood with motorcycles.

It takes place in Baltimore, where Mouse (Jahi Di’Allo Winston) is a good-hearted 14-year-old enamored with the Midnight Clique, a rebellious collection of dirt-bike riders who elude authorities with their brash showmanship and nonchalant attitude toward petty crime — even though Mouse’s older brother died in a tragic accident on their watch.

Despite warnings from his beleaguered mother (Teyonah Parris) and a mentor (William Catlett) on the police force, the impressionable youngster can’t resist the allure of the anarchic danger, the skill, or the artistry of his wheelie-popping neighbors.

Eventually, Mouse tires of sitting on the sidelines with his intimidated friends. He approaches Blax (Meek Mill), the clique’s leader, in hopes of landing a job at his underground repair shop and showing off his riding skills. But as Blax takes the new kid under his wing, Mouse gets a lesson in the grime behind the glitz.

The stylish film immerses us in a working-class neighborhood that’s rough around the edges yet generally populated by kind-hearted people trying to make the best of some tough socioeconomic circumstances.

Meanwhile, Winston (Proud Mary) offers a charming and sympathetic performance as the audience’s window into this biker culture. In his film debut, rapper Meek Mill showcases an authentically understated screen presence as the conflicted Blax.

The English-language debut of Puerto Rican filmmaker Angel Manuel Soto is confidently steered despite its more familiar elements, as well as some contrivances that cause the story to meander.

Even if the ending feels forced, the richly textured screenplay captures the moral dilemma of its adolescent protagonist while also effectively confronting the broader ethical questions surrounding a lifestyle it could have easily glorified.

Unlike its nonfiction predecessor, Charm City Kings focuses more on the characters on two feet than those on two wheels. Fortunately, for the most part, the riders are just as compelling as their rides.

Rated R, 125 minutes.