Get Rich or Die Tryin'

This is just like any other gansta film, with drug running, testosterone talk and macho gun slinging—but Get Rich or Die Tryin’ has the added misfortune of Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson’s pained, monotone mumblings. Loosely based on the rap star’s life, flashbacks reveal the birth of the gangsta rapper, who started spewing offensive lyrics, toting a handgun and selling crack after his drug-dealing mom was murdered. The 8-year-old continued this crime-for-survival lifestyle until his miraculous recovery from nine bullet holes got him off the streets and into the recording studio. The unlikely director of this brash biopic, Jim Sheridan (In America), did the best that he could with the formulaic script and stoic-faced “50 Cent.” Joy Bryant and Terrence Howard enliven the screen with their consistent talents, but the fact remains that this is no 8 Mile.