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Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2005)

Rate: 5
Viewed: 11/08

GetRich
11/08: Get Rich or Die Tryin' is just off from a line of many from-rags-to-riches rapper pictures, but this one is better than most of the predecessors.

There are good performances from the cast, but it's Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, who resembles Mike Tyson, that hurts the picture the most with his superficial acting. Throughout the film, I've kept wanting more out of him.

Jim Sheridan, who directed My Left Foot, brings respectability to the table, but it's hampered by amateurish editing at times. A good example is the transition between two scenes when Marcus' girlfriend approached him in wallowed condition before leaving him with her son and then the next shot was them having sex. There isn't a central message in play. Nor is there a hint of a moral, either. In short, it's a whole lot of nothing. Yet I've enjoyed it to some extent because of the skillful directing, sincere performances, and all-around honest effort.

Terrence Howard isn't bad himself who surprised me with his willingness to be fully nude. However, he's repeating the same schtick from Hustle & Flow and Crash. Majestic looked familiar until I realized it's Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje aka Simon Adebisi from Oz. He should do more films because it's clear that he can act. Joy Bryant, who plays Charlene, is a familiar face from Antwone Fisher. She's a good actress but needs to try harder in shedding off her one-dimensional personality.

All in all, Get Rich or Die Tryin' works in some ways but needs more polish.