Get Rich or Die Tryin' Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.0

Get Rich or Die Tryin' Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman June 5, 2021

Get Rich or Die Tryin' is not a full-on biopic but it's essentially the story of its star, Curtis Jackson, better known as the worldwide rapping sensation "50 Cent." The film shares a title with his debut 2003 9x platinum album. The picture, directed by Jim Sheridan (My Left Foot, In the Name of the Father), explores a young rapper's rise to stardom and the street violence and drug dealing that influenced his music and his life's direction. The film follows a rigid narrative structure with little creative enterprise behind it, but the central story is suitably gripping and the film is well acted, too, in what is Jackson's screen debut.

Young Marcus Greer (Marc John Jefferies) lives a relatively good life. His mother Katrina (Serena Reeder) makes ends meet dealing drugs and he's an aspiring Rap artist. When his mother is killed, he moves in with his grandparents (played by Sullivan Walker and Viola Davis). A few years later, despondent with a lack of money and a miserable way of life -- he's literally living in his grandparents' basement -- Marcus (Jackson) chooses to pursue a musical career but also enter into the drug dealing business for that quick influx of cash to buy him the sneakers and the Mercedes he so desperately wants. This line of work ultimately lands him in prison where he meets Bama (Terrence Howard) and his musical career begins to blossom, though certainly violence follows as the cash flows in.

For 50 Cent, music and violence are inseparably intertwined. Those things have defined his life, the former enriching him and the latter almost killing him. The life of violence -- from his mother's murder to his own brush with death -- are key elements in his big-screen debut that adapts his story into, here, a film that is curiously both repetitious and captivating, the former because there's little structural originality to the story and the latter because Director Jim Sheridan and Actor 50 Cent build a compelling exterior that runs cover for the otherwise rote content. As the story builds, the interconnection between music and violence becomes all the more prominent, one a fixture of the other, two symbiotic entities that build a rapper into a target and a man into an empire. Sheridan and writer Terence Winter, who brings to the film a well-versed understanding of crime-meets-life as one of the chief writers of the hit HBO series The Sopranos, are well capable of exploring the story's essence and purpose even if it's necessarily presented in a cinematic package that is neither superficially new nor interesting; it's the human element and the talent on the screen that make it work.

It's also the star who makes the film. Jackson acts in Get Rich or Die Tryin as if a veteran of the screen, a seasoned actor who seems to bring years of experience to what is a rather complex role. He commands it through physical stature and persona alike. It helps that he is essentially playing himself and is not too terribly stretched to get into character or tasked with transforming himself from the inside out for the role, but for an actor making his screen debut it's nevertheless impressive work. Jackson never struggles to transition from intimate characterization to facing the external trials which push his physicality to some degree in so many scenes, whether it's a simple as the act of writing music or as complex and demanding when he's rapping on the stage or fighting for his life in a gun battle. Jackson is surrounded by several strong support performances, notably from Terrence Howard and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje.

Get Rich or Die Tryin' Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Paramount brings Get Rich or Die Tryin to the Blu-ray format with a very naturalistic 1080p transfer. The image maintains an agreeable film-like presentation style, holding to a very light grain structure that only spikes in density on a few occasions as the picture pulls a bit darker in several scenes. Overall, it's very even and complimentary, accentuating the fine point detail in evidence throughout. Viewers will be impressed with this one as it delivers firm, unblemished and unaltered details that are sure and naturally complex within the film medium parameters. Sharply defined faces and urban environments are the norm, and the detail holds even in low light and nighttime exteriors. Colors are pleasantly neutral, capturing the blend of urban gray and bright clothing with equal depth and accuracy. Black levels are firm and skin tones appear accurate. The print is free of all but the finest speckles and the encode gives no problems. This is a very nice, a very healthy, a very pleasantly watchable Blu-ray from Paramount.

Get Rich or Die Tryin' Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Get Rich or Die Tryin's Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack is not quite so potent as one might expect from a film defined by gunfire and Rap music. Neither offer significant depth or vigorous punch. Neither are they timid and flat, but expectations for a soundtrack such as this would warrant a desire to hear the music really thump and the gunfire to pound through with aggressive pop and heft. These elements fall somewhere in the middle, then. Spacing is never an issue; the track is wide and free-flowing, folding in a healthy allotment of surround support content as well. Urban atmosphere and busy location din are impressively detailed and full. Dialogue holds to a front-center focused placement and presents with faultless prioritization and lifelike clarity.

Get Rich or Die Tryin' Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of Get Rich or Die Tryin includes a making-of and the film's theatrical trailer. No DVD or digital copies are included with purchase. This release does not ship with a slipcover.

• A Portrait of an Artist: The Making of Get Rich or Die Tryin' (480i, window box, 28:57): A well-versed exploration of the characters and story, 50 Cent's real life and career, Jim Sheridan's work as director, and more.
• Theatrical Trailer (1080p, 2:21).

Get Rich or Die Tryin' Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Get Rich or Die Tryin may lack dramatic novelty even if it follows Curtis Jackson's life with some stringency, but even in the absence of a more novel story the film works for a couple of reasons, namely Jackson's performance and Sheridan's keen direction. Sheridan in particular knows how to put a film together and this one flows well, blending essential entertainment value with a sprinkling of thought provoking drama that does well to cut to its character's heart rather than just explore the superficialities that push the plot forward. Even if it lacks originality it's a solid watch. Paramount's Blu-ray is solid, too, delivering excellent video, a capable 5.1 lossless soundtrack, and a good making-of. Recommended.