Python Hyena
Get Rich or Die Trying' (2005): Dir: Jim Sheridan / Cast: Curtis Jackson, Terrence Howard, Joy Bryant, Bill Duke, Viola Davis: Gangster rap flick about conflicting decisions, such as releasing this film to begin with. It stars Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson whose mother is murdered when he was young and his life on the streets led to jail. His girlfriend is pregnant so he realizes that he must turn his life around so he writes rap music in jail. Strong background showcases the dangerous world of drugs and gang life but more about rap music was needed. Structure is predictable with an ending that seems to applaud violence. Director Jim Sheridan receives a fine performance from 50 Cent who recovers from several gun shot wounds before recovering and using rap music as a coping devise. Terrence Howard plays his manager whom he met in jail. Unfortunately the supporting roles are pretty standard issue. Joy Bryant as his girlfriend gives an effort but the role is predictable and straight forward. Viola Davis plays grandma and that is pretty much the extent of her appearance. The film is well made technically and certainly superior to the overrated Eight Mile but the film seems to be just what the title says, and that is scoring coin. Theme is sidelined by its celebrity promotion of 50 Cent and despite a great effort, he needs a role that can take him outside himself. Score: 5 / 10
matthewwalker50
Honestly,the overall rating is harsh on this Movie. I actually enjoyed it despite the fact that it was dull, yes. I know plenty of so called 'Dull' Movies/films/documentaries that people still enjoy watching. I mean I'll use 8 Mile and Book of Eli for examples. They are both pretty good films. Not the best, but still decent. I thought the same about Get Rich Or Die Trying' I actually like rap & hip hop stars and I'm a fan of 2Pac, Eminem, & 50 Cent. The film is relentlessly dull and depressing, yes. But people can relate to living in the ghetto like 50 Cent did. Eminem & Tupac (Along with 50 Cent) lived in the gutter to, but are still great talents. 50 Cent loves rap and gangsta. His ambition was to be a gangsta rapper. He turned away from crime to his love for rap. There is a lot of swearing and cursing, but in all honesty. If these situations were real (Some almost parallel to 50 Cent's actual life. For instance, getting shot 9 times & living to tell the tale to this day) People would swear from the sheer hard nut lives they were raised in. What happens to 50 Cents mama & having no father is tragic. And showing how he was really brought up & raised by his grandparents is pretty terrifying. The film feels is pretty realistic and I love realism in a movie. 50 Cent ain't that bad of an actor (He's not the best actor) His talent for rap though in my opinion is over average. I think It's worth watching through at least once. People need to ease up on the negative Reviews. Honestly, It's really not a bad film at all. Go for it!
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.
