Charm City Kings is a ride worth taking! With a mix of bike gang action, budding young romance, family tension, and humor. This film has many elements that make it a great watch despite the typical routes it follows
Living in the inner city is never easy. Charm City King director Angel Manuel Soto invites us to step into the shoes of Miles aka “Mouse” a young and susceptible product of the streets of Baltimore, Maryland. With heavy-hitters Barry Jenkins, who wrote a first draft of the film, and executive produced by Will and Jada Smith, this movie holds emotional weight within a humble cityscape.
This film is a charming yet raw insight into how young boys left to their own devices on a wild summer can be pulled in a variety of different directions. You can call this your run of the mill “coming of age” film however it offers much more style and edge than you’d expect.
Mouse, our protagonist torn between his dreams of being a veterinarian or a bike-riding protégée, is a young teen living with his little sister under the care of his hardworking single mother, Terri. We learn early on in the film that Mouse had an older brother, Stro, who was killed while being involved in the bike gang culture that Mouse so admires.
Mouse finds a deal on a four-wheeler that immediately gets him stopped by cops who call upon a colleague who once mentored Mouse in a Big Brother program. Detective Rivers has a soft spot for Mouse, who comes off as a good kid who is at risk to fall victim to the treacherous gang life that took his brother Stro away. Rivers hopes to be a father figure for Mouse, who stubbornly keeps his distance from the well-meaning officer.
Terri is working a full-time job and taking night classes, a necessary but unfortunate step toward a better life for her and her kids. Spread thin, she relies on her son to tend to the home and little sister, Shay. Seeing this an opportunity to go hang out with his friends, Mouse bribes his little sister to stay home alone and not snitch on him.
Once out, Mouse meets up with his best friends Lamont and Sweartagawd, energetic and full of jokes at the expense of the others. They go to visit the new girl in town, Nikki, a transplant from California who is charmed by Mouse and his boys, who invite her to The Ride, the big Sunday summer event. Mouse is emblazoned with passion when he describes The Ride, with bikes as far as the eye can see and describes it as “loud but calm, like the ocean.”
When introduced to The Ride, we get a glimpse into the Midnight Clique, the cool leaders of the bike scene who get pursued in a short-lived car chase a la “fast and furious.” The story continues with Mouse teetering through the streets of his city with doe-eyed admiration to the Magic City bike crew and his wavering dedication to his career as a veterinarian.
He’s encountered by Blax, a local bike legend played by Meek Mill, who gives us a performance filled with depth and nuance as a man recovering from his recent stint in prison. Meek has a natural knack for being on screen and serves as a rough around the edges mentor to oppose that of straight-laced Rivers.
The movie balances humor and heart, whilst also giving you a sense of the dangers of street life. The performances of the young trio were poignant and filled with layers of emotion. The way that Rivers and Blax both believed in Mouse yet rivaled each other gave more to the weight of his choices as their paths overlapped.
Blax gives promise to Mouse to get a new bike if he puts in proper hours at his auto shop, giving him the “Mr. Miyagi treatment,” as a very meta way of commenting on the cliches this movie tends to hit. You spend the movie rooting for Mouse, who carries the energy of a good-natured kid but is led astray by the legacy of his deceased brother.
You watch him grow wiser as the events of the movie unfold and he learns the truth behind the dark world he aspired to be a part of. With that, I invite you to take a step inside the inner-city world of Baltimore, Maryland and it’s exciting bike riding culture. This film has many elements that make it a great watch despite the typical routes it follows. With a mix of bike gang action, budding young romance, family tension, and humor, Charm City Kings is a ride worth taking.
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