JackRice100
In a similar template to Eminem's 8 Mile this film is loosely based off real life events from world renown rapper 50 Cent. Marcus (Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson) is a city drug dealer and all round gangster but wants to turn away from crime to pursue his passion of rap music.I loved this film, it helps I'm a huge Rap fan but this film is really good in its own right. If you liked films like 8 mile and Notorious about other huge Rap artists than I think this will be very much to your liking, if not than don't waste your time on watching it and complaining about it like a lot of others have done. First off the storyline is excellent and with the rather short run time you never get board. It was a dark film centring around the drug and gangster lifestyle in the late 90s and did an excellent job showing it. I feel more serious films do comedy really well as you don't expect it to be that funny, but the jokes that get added balance everything out superbly. Acting from 50 cent himself is surprisingly good, his narration was a good addition to the film as well. The supporting cast was as good if not better from Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje who played Majestic, Terrence Howard and Joy Bryant (Bama & Charlene) were the stand out performers from the film, thought they did a very professional job overall. The writing was strong throughout there were a couple of 'cartoony' scenes but apart from that it wasn't bad at all. The directing was decent enough. The cinematography was great showed a variety of different shots to express each scene. Lastly the music is of a very high standard throughout the raw gritty lyrics were great with some incredible beats to top. Not only 50's work but the music in the build up of the more violent and intense scenes were extremely good. Overall I really like this film even after a few viewings it is still very enjoyable.
richieandsam
GET RICH OR DIE Trying'It was alright, but nothing special i'm afraid.The film is about a drug dealer who is trying to make it big as a rapper.It stars 50 Cent as the drug dealer, Marcus. The story was not very gripping. It was OK, but it could have been a lot better. I was told before I saw this that it was a biopic about 50 Cent, but I don't think this is the case. I am sure there are similarities, but i am sure that there are some fictitious moments too.The acting was OK(ish), in fact, i thought 50 Cent is a better actor than a rapper.There was one comedy moment in the movie that made me laugh though... there is a scene where Marcus gets attacked in the shower by a knife wielding criminal and it turns out to be a fight... it is funny watching tough guys slipping and sliding all over the place while trying to kill each other. Haha!Also, i gotta say, there is a scene where Marcus gets shot that is really good. The effects were impressive in that scene and was quite gruesome.I really preferred 8 Mile... that film is a lot better than this. This was just a major disappointment.I will give this film a 5 out of 10.Disappointing movie...For more of my reviews, please like my Facebook page:http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ordinary-Person-Movie- Reviews/456572047728204
Quicksand
I remember when this movie came out, it was universally panned across the board. "50 Cent can't act," "The script is terrible," "The dialogue sounds like it was written by a third grader," "What's so special about 50 Cent that he needs his own movie?" I stayed away from it for years, but then I happened to watch my first Jim Sheridan movie recently, "The Boxer." It was well-acted, well-crafted, the tone was consistent and dark throughout the movie, while illuminating the viewer into a world that he or she may never have seen before, all while putting well-rounded characters through the ringer. This plus universally positive reviews of every Jim Sheridan movie except this one, made me wonder if IMDb users (statistically mostly white teenagers) weren't just hating on this movie out of typical cultural bias. If you run down the list, after all, most every "urban" film, regardless of quality, gets a pretty low rating on this website. Sometime it's deserved. But sometimes it isn't."Get Rich or Die Trying'" isn't a terrible film, and is far better than the current 4.1 rating it currently holds, which would put it on par with Uwe Boll movies and any post-Oscar Nicolas Cage movie. While it isn't Citizen Kane, it's better than all of those, a well-crafted drama that could be enjoyed by anyone, whether or not they enjoy rap music.Can 50 Cent act? He's not terrible. At no time does he look like he's reciting lines, and his natural charisma plus Jim Sheridan's direction makes for a passable performance. He's not better or worse than, say, Mark Wahlberg, who has a similarly limited range, but has utilized it to great effect.Is the script terrible? No. It gets clichéd in parts (the beginning of the first flashback is the most over-used cliché in movies like this, and was parodied over a decade ago in "Don't Be a Menace..."), but overall tells a tight, fleshed-out story that wavers only periodically between poetry and cheese. 90% of the time, it walks the line between the two and does a credible job. Every character is well-drawn with their motivations clear, with the notable exceptions of Charlene and Bama. The script makes no effort to show who they are or why they act the way they do, and while the actors work to show depth to what's on the page, ultimately it is a large flaw in the film-- but this is no better or worse than any other Hollywood film, that fails to give dimension to even one female character.Is 50 Cent worthy of his own movie? Look. He's not Elvis. He's not the Beatles, or Johnny Cash, or NWA, or Jay-Z. His music is middling at best and even in 2011 he's still a one-hit wonder. So if 50 Cent isn't as towering in the music game as all these others, the question we must then ask is: Is his story worthy of being told, if Marcus were played by someone other than Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson? The dude was shot five times and lived. His mother died on the streets. He made it out, and made enough of an impression to get a movie like this one made. Even if you don't like his music, it's a story we don't often see, and one worthy of being told... not unlike 'The Boxer.' There's a moment early on, in the first scene, where our main characters are riding to a robbery, and 50 Cent is playing on the soundtrack. We catch Marcus himself lip-syncing to the radio... in essence, lip-syncing to HIMSELF. I don't think that's a coincidence. The music is Any Music, the time is Any Time. It's a dramatic epic and reflection of a specific time, with painstaking detail used to recreate music, culture, and fashion, of a culture we don't see often given respect on film. Yet despite the specifics, it manages to remain a universal story for any community that has to face this kind of violence, and Jim Sheridan clearly knew this when he signed on.Upon the films release, teenagers may have been expecting "Scarface," and this wasn't it. Adults may have been expecting a typical urban violence-fest, and stayed away... but the film wasn't that, either.Ultimately, despite some fantastic camera-work, Sheridan didn't make art on the level of 'The Boxer,' and certainly not on the level of 'My Left Foot,' 'In the Name of the Father,' or 'In America.' But 4.1? It certainly deserves better than THAT. Six years on, and the film is no longer a publicity stunt made solely to peddle CDs... it's just a movie, and a good one.8/10.
Basse Jul
i read through all these comments with 1 star? (Wtf) and reading people nagging about so much stuff that i noticed nothing of in this movie made me feel like someone had to be real about this.as u see in the trailer*maybe spoiler* this is a movie about Curtis Jackson (50 cents) life as a rapper trying to get by, after getting into a lot of trouble he decides to get out, but those he worked for cant let him do that, and he gets shot 9 times and amazingly enough survives, and tries to bring hes rival if u will, down,don't tell me that ain't a good story, i found this movie to be a great story and kept me entertained for the whole 2 hours, but if u don't like action, dangerous flirting, hip hop or rap for that matter, id say this movie ain't for upeace out.
