Get Rich or Die Trying – Reviews In
Well, some of the early critics have spoken and yet again we have he case of a auto portrayal + good director + don’t care because I’m stinkin rich + I smile throughout the whole movie = bad production. Here are the comments:
“On one hand you’ve got Tupac Shakur, Will Smith, Ice Cube, Mark Wahlberg, Ice-T, LL Cool J, Sean Combs and Andre Benjamin. On the other you’ve got 50 Cent. This kid stinks! ”
– Sean Burns, PHILADELPHIA WEEKLY
5/10 “50 spends the film with one look on his face, and itÂ’s the look that you imagine a caveman would have when confronted with a cellphone.”
– Devin Faraci, CHUD
2.5/5 “With the emotional range of a wet sock, Jackson mumbles through his lines with a blank expression.”
– Stefan Halley, HERO REALM
D+ “50 Cent’s fanbase might love this valentine to the rapperÂ’s ego no matter the quality, but other audiences might not be as forgiving with this half-realized urban fairy tale.”
– Brian Orndorf, EFILMCRITIC.COM
2/4 “A reiteration of the now-clichéd hip-hop rise-to-fame legend that duplicates the crime-to-rhyme formula of Hustle & Flow.”
– Nicholas Schager, SLANT MAGAZINE
1.5/4 “Get Rich or Die Tryin’ will always be known as the 50 Cent movie. Not because of who stars in the film, but because that’s how much it’s worth.”
– Phil Villarreal, ARIZONA DAILY STAR
7/10 “A good introduction to the rapper and his music, but also an entertaining movie in its own right.”
– Edward Douglas, COMINGSOON.NET
“Everybody loves Marcus (50 Cent), from relatives to homeboys to would-be killers.”
– Cynthia Fuchs, POPMATTERS
With that said, Curtis Jackson (aka 50 cent) is laughing all the way to the bank. Does he care whether his movie bombs? Probably not. Is it further damaging the stereotypes? Yeap. Just listen to what Spike Lee (whom I usually don’t agree with) said in a recent interview:
Lee described a billboard in Los Angeles promoting the current film “Get Rich or Die Trying” which featured rapper Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson holding a gun in one hand and a microphone in the other. Lee said that billboard sends young black men the message that there are only two ways to succeed: “get a record deal or shoot the s**t out of somebody, excuse my language.” Lee said the billboard has since been removed after criticism from the black community.
And the same messages are being promoted by many rap artists and, perhaps more important, by the record companies which determine what CDs get released. Lee said those negative stereotypes are just as damaging to white suburban teenagers, who are a key market for hip-hop CDs, as they are to black teenagers.
“We’ve put pimps on a pedestal,” he said. While Lee has met the rapper Snoop Dogg and likes him personally, he said the promotion of Snoop Dogg’s pimp image in mainstream culture — such as a Chrysler ad featuring Snoop Dogg with Lee Iacocca — is a bad thing.
