Miles Ahead

"A biopic that rejects typical genre conventions to the point of chasing itself down lame, tangential paths."

"Like the improvised nature of jazz, Don Cheadle's biopic about Miles Davis brings a syncopated view on the legendary musician and trumpet player's life as it scats around his turbulent life."

"Cheadle is so good as the cryptic Davis that you wonder if a more traditionally structured biojazz picture à la Ray or Bird might have been a better showcase for what's obviously a passion project."

"Cheadle, in his feature directorial debut, controls the tone like a veteran."

"Purists may howl, but they'll also miss the pleasure and point of this playfully impressionistic movie."

"Cheadle’s got the cred, and the period evocation is tremendous. It’s just that I’m not sure he has all that much to say."

"Cheadle privileges the music in a way that shows his love and admiration for its creator. He has tried to make a movie that Davis would have liked, something with attitude and intelligence. On that level, Miles Ahead is a beautiful thing."

"Cheadle's performance ... stands tall in all of this, even when the plot contrivances start to pile up like so much disposable material."

"A movie that's often as sharp as you'd hope, yet whose weirdly off-key centre stands out like an uncharacteristic cracked note in an otherwise controlled, expressive solo."

"In Cheadle's fully inhabited characterization, he nails the subject's soft, nicotine-scratched rasp and his eccentric irritability and paranoia with discerning understatement."

"A largely inventive and energetic portrayal of a past-their-prime music legend that’s let down by its unnecessary trad biopic beats."