The criticism of this film reminds me of that received for Jarhead. People said Jarhead was not a war movie, and the Get Rich or Die Trying had to little to do with rap. My question is, why doesn't this make it a bad film? And to make one last comparison, this film way out did anything 8 Mile attempted (much more of a social critique).
The strength in this film is derived from it's black and white presentation of the "dope game" and how for fifty it was either sleep in a cellar, or buy a Mercedes. Sheridan did a good depiction of how selling drugs is an easy escape, a way to make you feel like a man. The best and most powerful scene in this film is when someone slips a razor blade in his solitary cell in order for him to kill himself. He remarks, "I thought about it". I also enjoyed the non-romanticized violence, and how the drug game was not altogether glorified.
The downfall of this film is it's over dramatized scenes, and it may be a little to long, however, a good critique of Black Urban society, and well worth your 8 dollars.
