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I’m flabbergasted by Get Rich or Die Tryin’. Am I supposed
to take the movie seriously or seriously laugh at it? Curtis
“50 Cent” Jackson follows his mentor Eminem by taking up
the lead role in a film that is based loosely on his own
life. Does it succeed on the same level as Eminem’s film?
No. 8 Mile was a special film in the way that they took
a legitimate storyline, tailored it to Eminem’s needs, hid
his lack of acting experience and went for broke.
Get Rich or Die Tryin’ is over the top gangster action
that is too hardcore to believe. Is one really supposed
to swallow multiple killings with nary a police officer
in sight unless the story deems it important? Not unless
you’re a little “G Unit” flunky who thinks that everything
“fitty” touches gives you instant gangster status. It doesn’t.
Get Rich or Die Tryin’ actually does more to expose
50 Cent as nothing but a guy playing a role. If 50 was actually
a gangster, he’d be able to act like one, not like a punk
yelling “I’m a gangster” in every scene to re-affirm what
we already know, that 50 ain’t no gangster. ***
Starring in a multi-million dollar Hollywood feature
is reason enough to be kicked out of the gangster club.
Unless you were never in it. ***
Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson stars as Marcus, a straight
up drug dealer who has aspirations of becoming a rap star
without spending more than three hours writing his mad ill
rhymes. Perhaps Get Rich or Die Tryin’s greatest flaw is
that unlike 8 Mile, where we watched the progression of
Eminem’s character from street rapper to a legitimate talent,
50 Cent’s character never goes through that. We see one
scene of Marcus rapping to his girlfriend when he’s a child,
and then a moment where he’s writing on the walls of solitary
confinement (which is ridiculous enough) but other than
that, it’s all about the gangster lifestyle in this one.
***
As a young child, Marcus’s mom was a drug dealer but
after an untimely murder, Marcus must fend for himself.
He becomes a drug dealer, under the watchful eye of Majestic
(Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), who was a friend of his mom’s.
Marcus takes a crew and starts living the life. He sells
drugs by day and parties like a rock star at night, all
the while, neglecting his dreams of rapping. ***
Suddenly Marcus’s childhood sweetheart Charlene (Joy
Bryant) walks back into his life and he starts re-evaluating
his life. In the span of two scenes, they go from being
re-acquainted to Charlene living with him. But that’s a
problem the entire supporting cast has in Get Rich or Die
Tryin’. They are not treated as real characters but trees
in the background. They have no personality, no purpose
and it’s definitely not clear why they are so loyal to Marcus
in the midst of all the gang shooting and drug dealing.
There’s no motivation for Charlene to fall in love with
Marcus. They were sweethearts ten years ago, not two. ***
After getting thrown in jail and hooking up with Bama
(Terrence Howard), Marcus starts to follow his rap dream
once again. He quits the gang, which Majestic doesn’t appreciate
and settles down with Charlene and their new baby boy (a
one night stand leads to marriage and a baby in this flick).
It’s now a film about a botched robbery and a comeback to
become a rapper. ***
Fifteen minutes into Get Rich or Die Tryin’ and you
can easily see why Samuel L. Jackson not only turned down
a role in the film but slammed 50 Cent, wondering how all
these so called rap stars became legitimate actors. 50 Cent
is an embarrassment. He tries to be a gangster and even
though he’s supposedly been this bad ass gangster in real
life, he looks like a scared and lost child in every scene.
Scared, upset, concerned – it’s all the same look from 50
Cent. He’s either smiling or he’s not, that’s his acting
range. And what about his narration and lines of dialogue?
God awful mumbling that puts Vin Diesel to shame. ***
Get Rich or Die Tryin’ is made for a very specific
audience - The kids who want to be gangsters but the closest
they’ll ever get is listening to rappers glorify a pathetic
existence of killing and getting respect. ***
Image and Sound:
The transfer isn’t as sharp as it could be. The colors
seem a little washed out (even keeping in mind the way it
was filmed) and there’s a grainy quality to it in some of
the night time scenes. Even with the modern marvel of DVD
sound technology, you can’t still understand what the hell
50 Cent is talking about half the time. The rap music comes
through loud and clear on the low channels, though. If you
want to wake up the neighbors in your apartment complex,
this is the film to do it with. ***
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