GET RICH OR DIE TRYIN' — * 1/2 — Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Joy Bryant; rated R (violence, profanity, drugs, sex, nudity); Carmike 12 and Ritz 15 theaters; Century theatres 16; Cinemark 24 at Jordan Landing; CinemaStar 5-Star and Gateway 8 Cinemas; Megaplex 12 at the Gateway; Megaplex 17 at Jordan Commons.
As Eminem's protege, 50 Cent got the entree to rap superstardom and all the automatic wealth, fame and credit that go along with it.
But apparently he didn't get any acting lessons.
And so "Get Rich or Die Tryin'," the film debut from 50 Cent (real name: Curtis Jackson), plays like a feeble retread of Eminem's film debut "8 Mile" — not just because it's arriving in theaters only three years later and it's so similarly semifictional, which it is. Mainly, "Get Rich" proves once again, as in "Glitter," that standing in front of a camera and portraying a thinly veiled version of yourself is harder than it sounds.
Eminem pulled it off — even though "8 Mile" was essentially a rap version of "The Karate Kid" — because he had an inescapable charisma, an intensity about him and an innate ability to connect with his audience in a way that was evident even from his earliest music videos. 50, though, has always had a much more low-key vibe, which on the big screen renders him nearly inert.
Theoretically, having the benefit of working under a director as experienced as Jim Sheridan ("My Left Foot," "In the Name of the Father") should bring out the best in him. Sheridan does evocatively convey the squalor of the South Bronx from the late 1970s until now, and visually "Get Rich" is reminiscent of Sheridan's stirring "In America," another story of struggle in New York. (Cinematographer Declan Quinn and production designer Mark Geraghty are responsible for the gritty details and the natural, sometimes unforgiving lighting in both.)
But 50's character, Marcus, should be the driving force in the midst of all the poverty and drug deals and drive-by shootings that eventually serve as fodder for his music; instead, he feels like a passenger in his own story. He has the same look on his face nearly the entire time — a sort of halfhearted smile with his eyes slightly squinted — and he delivers the film's many voiceovers in the same monotone as his real-life hits like "In Da Club" (which did have an insanely catchy beat).
So when he says, "I had it all but still, something was missing," we'll just have to take his word for it.
Many details from Marcus' life are similar to the now-infamous aspects of 50's past: the absence of his father, the killing of his drug-dealing mother, the drug dealing of his own, the rap sheet and the nine bullets he took and managed to survive. Even the film's title is the same as that of 50's debut album from 2003.
We have no real sense, though, from the script by Terence Winter (an alum of "The Sopranos") of who Marcus really is or what drives him to succeed either as a coke dealer or a musician, aside from the obvious income. (Actually, the actor playing Marcus as a young teen, Marc John Jefferies, is more vibrant and more believable in just his 20 minutes at the start than 50 is for the entire remainder of the movie.)
Marcus amasses a small crew, makes some money and becomes a pawn in the power struggle between his violent mentor Majestic (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) and drug lord Levar (Bill Duke, borrowing from Brando in "The Godfather"). He reconnects with his childhood girlfriend, Charlene (the graceful Joy Bryant), who seems too smart to be involved with him plausibly but gives him a child nonetheless. And he goes to jail, where he hones his gangsta rhymes.
While he's there, he meets the persuasive and talkative Bama, who will go on to be his manager on the outside. This is the best thing that could have happened to Marcus and to the audience, as well, because Bama is played by Terrence Howard, who lately has proved himself to be the most compelling figure in every film he's in (including this year's underappreciated "Crash"). He's funny, charming, slightly dangerous and desperate but never boring.
Howard's presence also inevitably calls to mind his own superior rap movie, the low-budget "Hustle & Flow," which seemed addled with cliches when it came out this summer, but comparatively is looking better all the time.
"Get Rich or Die Tryin' " is rated R for strong violence, pervasive language, drug content, sexuality and nudity. Running time: 117 minutes.