Charm City Kings Review

10.12.20

Charm City Kings is officially out on HBO Max. The film stars hip-hop icon Meek Mill, and a large group of bike lovers based out of a Baltimore. The film premiered at a festival earlier this year in February. Unfortunately, the other premiers were cancelled due to the coronavirus. However finally, the film is available for all to watch through HBO Max. Many cable providers will allow you to access the showing as well. Anyway you may get it, I highly recommend.

This is not Meek Mill’s first time being on film, however, it is the first time that he has acted as someone who was not himself. Free Meek was a five-part documentary series released on Amazon Prime last year. This series took us back on his history with one specific judge, who had kept him on parole for so long, that he ultimately had to serve two years in prison for riding a bike on the streets. Streets and Tony Story are two additional films from a few years back that tell the story of different parts of Meek’s life. Though his role in Charm City Kings is not necessarily about his actual life, they could not have picked a better actor for this role and what it represents.

In this film, we first meet three, thirteen-year-old best friends. The three boys are obsessed with bikes and quads, and the collectives from their neighborhood that pull off the best tricks. Mouse, the main character of the three boys, lost his older brother, Stro, in the streets. At first, we are not sure exactly what happened to him, but his mother is very stern about Mouse not getting on any bike with a motor. However, whenever she leaves for work or night-class, Mouse goes out on the quad he purchased from a nearby garage.

Every Sunday over the summer, this particular part of Baltimore holds a neighborhood even they call, The Ride. Everyone in their bikes come out and do tricks up and down the streets. The Midnight Clique is the collective of bikers who Mouse looks up to, and wants to ride with. They have the best bikes and the best tricks, but his friends initially laugh at him since there is no way they would ride with a group of thirteen year olds. Of course, he thinks about his brother and how much he wants to be like him, so they set out to do whatever it took to be a part of The Midnight Clique.

At first, Mouse and his two best friends, Lamont and Sweartagod, pulled up to the garage where The Midnight Clique hangs out. The crew laughs at the boys for being so young, and not having real bikes. Lamont and Sweartagod are on bicycles, and Mouse’s quad burns out. The Midnight Clique ride off, and Mouse tells his friends to leave him behind. This is where we meet M.N.C Blax, the leader of the bike collective, played by Meek Mill. Blax was legendary to the boys, the city of Baltimore, and his crew. However, he had just been released from jail and out on parole, so he needed to keep his actions in check. He knew who Mouse was, and he knew about his brother. Instead of laughing at him like the others, he let Mouse work in his garage, and build his own bike with the spare parts lying around the shop.

Mouse had his friends join him in the garage, however they really were not about it, since they did not make actual money. Instead, they began hanging out with the rest of the collective doing drug runs and making dirty money. The crew decided they would give work to the young kids, after seeing Lamont throw a brick and beat up a man who held a gun to his head, after stealing a bike from Mouse. After Mouse was presented with this horrific series of events, heard his friends were making money with these others guys, and his mom needed to quite school to pick up another job, he knew he needed money. He confronted Blax to “put him on,” but Blax knew he could not do that. So, Mouse went out and made some poor decisions.

Mouse and his crew were now working the streets for M.N.C. When Mouse’s mother found out, she had kicked him out of the house. They were having fun, making money and riding bikes that the M.N.C clique gave to them while they were on the job. However, things went left when they decided they wanted to make their own money. During a robbery gone bad, Sweartagod was shot and killed, by the store clerk. Mouse ran to find Blax, in attempt to seek advice. The police showed up there, and Blax gave himself up for the crime, saying that Mouse was in the shop working all day. The cop on the scene was actually an old mentor of Mouse’s. He had been present throughout the film, and taught us that Blax was one of the main reasons why his brother was killed. Blax had “put him on,” sent him on a drug run, and he never returned home. The cop begged Blax to do right by Mouse and stay out of his life. During this moment, the cop knew where Mouse had been that night, but listened to Blax tell him “do what is right and take me out of Mouses’ life.”

Mouse went on to become a young veterinarian, something he had been very passionate about. Lamont remained a part of the streets. At one point in the film Blax told Mouse, “People like us do not get second chances. So promise me you will do better.” Not only do we see both sides of what really does happen, from Mouse changing up his situation from the better, to Lamont who can’t seem to get out of the streets. But, this also so vividly represents Meek Mill in his situation. He had been behind bars, he had done all of these things in this movie. Now, he is able to be better, provide for his family, and teach the youth what is wrong from right.

Overall, his acting was great. Still, it is like he hardly had to act. It just seems so real. While the movie is not about Meek’s life in particular, it fits perfectly, and is actually based on a true story about a bike group from Baltimore called the Twelve O’Clock Boys. They call themselves twelve o’clock, because of the trick where the bike goes up straight on just one wheel, making it look like the hands are pointing to twelve o’clock. Mouse does mention this trick in the film, paying homage to the bike collective. The film was also really filmed in Baltimore, and used real street biker riders to actually perform these stunts.

From seeing Meek Mill act, to seeing this bike tricks were truly jaw-dropping, to just a great story line with the most important message, Charm City Kings was an incredible film. The end is quite the tear jerker, so watch the credits roll as a montage of Baltimore bikers home videos put a smile back onto your face.