Dir: Jim Sheridan

Starring: Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Joy Bryant

The critically acclaimed 8 Mile starring Eminem was a film with heart, honesty and intrigue. Fast-forward a few years and we have Get Rich or Die Tryin’, this time with 50 Cent, but which contains none of the features that made the former such a success.

Get Rich or Die Tryin’ tells the apparent autobiographical story of Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson who, in the film, goes by the name of Marcus. After his drug-selling mother is murdered, he decides the only way to survive is to follow in her footsteps and join the family business. Though he never seems to want to avenge his mother’s death, his journey takes him through gun crime, drive-by turf wars and the New York cocaine industry whilst, at the same time, he’s searching for his father. Needless to say, the plot is constantly searching for a path to take and, for this reason, never really finds one to go down.

This was a film made for Curtis Jackson who, although he’s virtually playing himself, has a distinct lack of charisma. His voice and early narration is spoken in a tediously dull monotone which is often slurred. This was his chance to impress but he failed dismally.  On the other hand, Majestic (Akinnuoye-Agbaje), who’s soon to be seen in Lost, is effective as the villainous mentor of Marcus.

In a movie starring one of the rap world’s best selling artists, you expect this film to be loaded with fresh hip hop music, especially as the film is based on how he became one of music’s richest men. Sadly, even that falls far short of expectations. The soundtrack is meagre in comparison to what it could have been.

Sheridan’s direction and cinematography is average and, considering the controversial gun-centred marketing campaign of the film, even the shootout scenes were poorly orchestrated. The dialogue is pitiful and seems to rely heavily on swearing.

Get Rich or Die Tryin’ is the equivalent to a straight-to-dvd sequel of 8 mile. The film attempts to be outlandish by the overuse of guns and swearing, but if you take those two things away then you are left with the skeleton of a barely average film. Abysmal, unremarkable and extremely forgettable, this is one to miss, and you won’t really be missing a thing

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