donnie m
'could' have been a better movie but some of THE WORST acting i've ever seen from most of the cast but i did like Mike Colter as Charlie Walker and Safiya Fredericks who plays his wife
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
10/01/23
Full Review
Chris J
MOVIE REVIEW
I'm Charlie Walker
rated – star star star star star
Genre: Biography, Drama
Year Released: 2022
Runtime: 1h 18m
Director(s): Patrick Gilles
Writer(s): Patrick Gilles
Cast: Mike Colter, Dylan Baker, Safiya Fredericks, Mark Leslie Ford, Steven Wiig, Greg Cipes, Travis Johns, Emma Caulfield Ford, Monica Barbaro, and Carl Lumbly
Where To Watch: Opens Nationwide and on VOD on June 10th
The best movie experiences are always a complete surprise, and I'M CHARLIE WALKER is one of those cases. Although I'm not sure what I was expecting, I got a riveting true story about a man who was the definition of determination and was ready to prove all his doubters wrong.
Charlie Walker himself approached director Patrick Gilles to "take a shot" at telling this story. Honestly, Mike Colter's (LUKE CAGE) performance as Walker in the film sold it for me. He gave this character, who I wasn't familiar with, a life of his own and was able to sell him as a story that one could relate to. The more films I review, the more I wish that I had been able to learn history through cinema (while possibly not always 100% accurate, I feel like I take in so much more.) I love when a film can tell one person's account and keep you intrigued. It's hard enough to tell the story of an event in time or a group of people, but the story about an individual can quickly start to drag.
The film itself was a pretty simple story, what can one man accomplish when he knows everything is riding on it. I appreciated that the film didn't pull any punches when telling the story; showing the struggles and Walker's determination to overcome them made it that much stronger. They could've taken the easy route and made it seem like this was an easy journey, but instead, they showed the adversity he faced.
Some other familiar faces in the cast included Emma Caulfield Ford (WANDAVISION, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER,) Monica Barbaro (TOP GUN: MAVERICK, UNREAL,) and Dylan Baker (TRICK ‘R TREAT, SELMA.) Ultimately as I had mentioned before, Colter made the film for me. They were helped along by Gille's fantastic direction and a powerful cinematic experience. The film takes place in the 70s, and I truly felt that from the incredible sets and the overall look of the film.
I adore Shout Factory's physical releases, so when I found out this was a film done by Shout! Studios (their filmed entertainment production and distribution arm). I was incredibly excited. If you're not familiar with Shout Factory, I highly recommend them; they have saved many incredible films and TV shows and given them to a broader audience.
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Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
03/10/23
Full Review
Michael W
This biographical drama was really good. Mike Colter, Safiya Fredericks, Dylan Baker, Mark Ford, Monica Barbaro, Carl Lumbly, Emma Caulfield, Lyle Kanouse, and the rest of the cast did a fantastic job in this movie. This true story about the trucker Charlie Walker was dramatic, entertaining, and thrilling. It's about fighting for your family and doing anything to get it, even if you have to bend the rules. If you haven't seen this movie yet, check it out sometime. It's a definite must see.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
11/20/22
Full Review
Audience Member
Really enjoyed this triumphant, true story about San Francisco trucker Charlie Walker. Up against system racism and a billion dollar oil company, Charlie was instrumental in cleaning up the San Francisco Bay in 1971 after a big oil spill. Mike Colter (fyi I'm a big Luke Cage fan) is beyond excellent as Charlie Walker and Dylan Baker is diabolical as the oil man in charge. But the rock of the film is Safiya Fredricks who plays Charlie's wife. Carl Lumbly (Falcon & The Winter Soldier) is one of our finest actors and so good in his role and I saw an appearance by the co star of "Top Gun Maverick", Monica Barbaro who plays a pivotal role. We need more films like this that show Black heroes in a positive light!
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
02/17/23
Full Review
Audience Member
It looked like an ultra low budget indie project done for youtube. The acting was so hammy fresh off a 90s WB sitcom. Then the ridiculous corny musical score and awful "Halloween" wardrobes was laughable.
There was not an ounce of screen that made me believe it was taken place in the 70s
If you ignore all that, and I couldn't, you are still faced with writing that doesn't allow you to escape a minute without some racial reference to every stereotype ever to walk Earth. The sexy sassy strong black woman, the smooth quick witted strong black man to the dopey evil corporate white men and poster love child hippies, this was offensively unfunny.
This movie didn't know if it wanted to be a comedy, drama, TV movie, historical piece of art. It was all over the place.
If you are looking for a cheaply made film, bad acting, writing and directing filled with cliches this is for you.
SKIP IT, Skip it real good.
Rated 0.5/5 Stars •
Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars
02/20/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Wow, had no idea about any of this. Highly recommend this movie. The actors did a good job. How unfair the society we live in was and still is. Being discriminated by race, skin color is just horrible which is still happening now.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
01/27/23
Full Review
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