decent story which got a real boost from the rap battles...

Rating: Null/10 (10 April 2003)

*some spoilers*
I thought this was inspiring. Eminem gave an effortless but good performance - I respect the fact that he was pretty much himself and was able to pull this off. Mekhi Phifer is just getting better and better to watch! his hot streak carried on from Paid In Full which is good. This was a pretty good everyday life story about Jimmy who is a working man burdened by poverty and his color due to his taste of music which turns out to be irrelevant as the movie goes on(especially at the end). I loved the hip-hop insight, Curtis Hanson really did his research as the dialogue of hip-hop talk really coincided w/ the time(1995-96), not only did the dialog help but the music really made it stand out when Mobb Deep's shook ones, Showbiz and AG's next level and Onyx's Last Dayz came on during the battles along w/ a bunch of other songs from BIG and Tupac, etc., etc. The movie will seem to lag a bit but the ending really puts this movie over the top especially w/ the final battle between Em and Papa-Doc(Anthony Mackie) - Em single-handedly crushes it w/ the "313" verse to Mobb Deep's shook ones.
Nice movie w/ a great DVD package as well