Good, but definitely not great...

Rating: Null/10 (23 March 2003)

It was inevitable that Eminem would get his own movie, but everyone questioned whether or not Marshal Mathers, a kid from Detroit with absolutely no experience in acting, could pull it off. Eminem does in fact do a sufficient job, but overall, there's nothing too special about 8 Mile.
The script is quite old fashioned, any by that I mean it seems to follow soem of the harsh guidlines that were formerly imposed on films. You know, the "Anyone that does wrong must be punished before the end of the movie." In otherwords, the good guy is going to emerge as a winner in the end of this movie. From nearly the very first scene, it's very apparent as to which way this film is going and how it will most likely end.

But the script is somewhat redeemed by surprisingly good acting. Eminem, as I stated earlier, does a pretty good job as Jimmy Smith Jr., but Phiefer, Bassinger and Murphy all give good performances, which really helps move the script along.
Normally, I would give this movie a 6. However, there is one aspect to the movie that I really liked and that was the sparing or rap battles. I doubt the ones that made the movie were impromptu, but regardless, the battles flowed extremely well, and they were undoubtely the best part of the movie. The crowd interaction was great as well, making me feel as if I were actually in Detroit, watching one of these battles live.
In fact, I wish there were more of these battles in the movie. 4 addition, actually improvised battles were included in the DVD, and those were great. If they had been in the movie, I would have given it a 8, but since they were not, 8 mile receives a 7/10.