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| Director
: |
Jim Sheridan
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| Starring
: |
50 Cent, Joy Bryant |
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| The plot of
Get Rich or Die Tryin |
An inner city drug dealer (50 Cent) looks to rap
music to save him from a certain death. |
Get Rich
or Die Tryin Movie Review
|
Review by TODD
MCCARTHY:
Even though it's inspired
by the real life of rap megastar Curtis "50 Cent"
Jackson, "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" has the
pulpy feel of fictional gangsta melodrama that plays
like a contrived cross between "New Jack City"
and "Hustle & Flow." Mildly engaging but
very far from being for 50 Cent what "8 Mile"
was for Eminem, this lurchingly structured story of
survival against the odds looks to get off to a strong
start thanks to the singer's large following, but is
a longshot to generate significant cross-over or the
conversion of new fans.
Although 50 Cent is the big story here, the pic is notable
as a departure for director Jim Sheridan, inasmuch as
it marks his first feature on a non-Irish subject. All
the same, "Get Rich" can be seen as something
of a companion piece to Sheridan's last film, "In
America," in its view of striving against the tide
toward vindication and success through self-reliance
in New York City..more..
Review By Pam
Grady:
It is curious that in
the past two years there have been two biopics of musical
giants, Ray and Walk the Line, that, rather than celebrate
the respective legends of Ray Charles and Johnny Cash,
have gone out of their way to emphasize their human
foibles, portraying both as self-absorbed addicts—the
star as creep instead of idol. Conversely, in Get Rich
or Die Tryin', the rapper 50 Cent plays a fictionalized
version of himself, a crack dealer and ex-con who is
very much the hero. Go figure.
The drama, directed by My Left Foot's Jim Sheridan and
written by Terence Winter, begins promisingly with an
arresting title sequence that captures the aural appeal
of rap. A line of cars snakes down a boulevard, music
pouring out of one at maximum volume, and every time
the bass line comes in, the entire car shakes from that
sonic boom and the picture blurs. It is a terrific opening
that the succeeding drama never comes close to matching..More..
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