Little if anything rings true about "Never Die Alone," which is a bit ironic since the film is based on a book by the late author Donald Goines, whose "street-fiction" supposedly contains factual elements.
However, doubts about the supposed truthfulness of the material is the least of this film's worries. Its makers clearly have the impression they have some sort of urbanized "Scarface" here, when really this is nothing more than a lurid return to '70s blaxploitation.
What made at least a few of the blaxploitation films tolerable was their sense of humor. "Never Die Alone" is played entirely straight-faced and suffers as a result. Audiences unlucky enough to sit through this exploitative, incoherent mess will also suffer.
DMX, who is actually starting to regress as an actor, has the lead role. Rather than trying to emote, he simply talks tough in his role as King David, a drug dealer whose past mistakes have come back to haunt him.
He's returned home after a decade to settle a score with another drug lord, Moon (Clifton Powell). Unfortunately, Moon's henchmen (Michael Ealy and Antwon Tanner) are a bit overzealous, and instead of taking David's pay-off, they decide to confront him — rather violently.
The resulting melee has left David at death's door. But before he dies, he does manage to befriend Paul (David Arquette), an aspiring writer
who inherits the dead's man possessions — including several audio tapes that reveal his past criminal exploits.
Nothing really works here. And director Ernest Dickerson's creative decisions make little sense, such as the use of sideways camera angles that appear to have been pulled directly from the '60s "Batman" television show.
The cast doesn't seem all that interested either. DMX Is ineffective, and Arquette invests nothing in this go-nowhere role. (Although, given the material, you can hardly blame him for phoning this one in.)
"Never Die Alone" is rated R for violence (shootings and stabbings), frequent use of strong sexual profanity, racial epithets and crude sexual talk, simulated drug use (heroin and cocaine), gore, simulated sex and brief male nudity. Running time: 82 minutes.
E-MAIL: jeff@desnews.com