From Academy Award winner Curtis Hanson (L.A. Feeding his dreams in Detroit’s vibrant music scene, Jimmy wages an extraordinary personal struggle to find his own voice – and earn a place in a world where rhymes rule, legends are born and every moment… is another chance. (Eminem), life is a daily fight just to keep hope alive. “Eminem wins by a knockout!” raves Rolling Stone, as the Grammy Award-winning phenomenon makes his feature film debut in this gripping story about the boundaries that hold us back – and the courage that can set us free. So B-Rabbit decides to jump in, and beats Mike (Xzibit) easily with a freestyle rap. Unfortunately much of the entertainment would come from seeing one of their favorite artists on the big screen rather than watching a quality film.B-Rabbit (Eminem) is working at the plant when a spontaneous rap battle breaks out at the lunch truck. It’s difficult to imagine that any review would stop serious Eminem fans from seeing “8 Mile,” and they are probably more likely to enjoy it than a non-fan or casual listener. Putting a thinly veiled fictional disguise on the story only makes it seem a bit ridiculous. If this were the stated purpose of the film, all would be well and people who went to see it would know what they were getting into.
#EMINEM 8 MILE FREESTYLE MOVIE#
She becomes irrational at random, which is similar to the picture Eminem paints of his real life mother.Īs a result of the suspiciously close ties with Eminem’s history (it’s even set in the same city Eminem grew up in), it’s hard to shake the feeling that the movie is just an excuse to tell his story and build himself up to be an underground hero.
For example, Jimmy’s mother, played by Kim Basinger, seems to have an unstable grasp on reality. Interestingly, he sometimes sounds awkward when he spouts profanity and slang with his friends or to the rival groups in Detroit.Īlthough the film is not supposed to be autobiographical of Eminem’s own humble roots in Detroit, many aspects hint at the story of his amateur beginning he has spoken of during interviews. There are several instances when he exposes his inexperience – he sounds a bit forced and unnatural in many of the dialogues. He realistically portrays his role as a struggling ambitious rapper who lives paycheck to paycheck with his mother in a trailer park. However, the movie must be given some credit for its gritty depiction of the characters’ lifestyles and how that plays into the way they handle problems, such as through violence and the spreading of gossip to damage their rivals’ credibility.Įminem is not a strong actor, which is apparent in the more dramatic sequences, but he isn’t terrible either. Conversely, other issues seem to come up at random, because of the spotty pacing of the film, turning a minor situation into a big deal without much explanation. Issues are solved in convenient ways which don’t quite produce a satisfying feeling of resolution. “8 Mile” takes itself very seriously but fails to hit hard with many of its plot elements.
These scenes are too obvious and overbearing and sometimes lead to a vague feeling that you are simply watching the mundane events of someone’s everyday life. Much time is spent focusing on conversation between Jimmy and his friends, plotting their road to success and fantasizing about stardom. The illusion, however, is suitably well done.įew movies bear plots that progress as slowly as “8 Mile.” It is relatively uneventful, and many scenes seem as if they could have been omitted because they only reiterate plot points or themes that were adequately presented in previous scenes. The quality of the rapping ranges from mildly amusing to extremely clever (and sometimes downright offensive), and audiences are meant to believe it is all spontaneous, but since it’s a movie, any amount of time could have been spent preparing the rhymes. I remember sneaking in to 8 Mile when it came out, my friends and I bought tickets for whatever Marvel movie or whatever was big at the time and then snuck past the security dude trying to keep kids out. Obviously, the movie has many sequences showcasing the freestyle flavor and talent of the local scenesters. At the end, the audience cheers for whom they think should win. In these rap-battles, two people face off on stage with a set amount of time to make up insulting rhymes on the fly about one’s foe.
#EMINEM 8 MILE FREESTYLE SERIES#
He tries to do so by competing in a series of freestyle rap competitions at local clubs.
#EMINEM 8 MILE FREESTYLE SKIN#
While this movie fares better than many of those made by the aforementioned people, it is nonetheless flawed and ultimately average.Īt its core, the movie is about a young white rapper in Detroit named Jimmy Smith (Eminem) who has to earn respect because of his skin color. It’s official – lots of rappers like to star in movies, and they’re rarely very good.Įminem, starring in his first movie, “8 Mile,” joins rank with, among other rapper-actors, Ice Cube, Method Man, Red Man, Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes and Vanilla Ice (go rent “Cool as Ice” sometime for a good laugh).