15, 116mins
Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson makes his big-screen debut in Get Rich or Die Tryin’, a semi-autobiographical tale of an orphaned “gangsta” who finds his salvation in rap music. But this simplistic and naive story is just one of the irresponsibly mixed messages that the film, directed by Jim Sheridan, gives out. It simultaneously sentimentalises, glamorises and condemns the crack-dealing bad-boy brotherhood that rules the streets.
Jackson’s not a natural actor. He’s unreadable and inscrutable. His most expressive feature is his baseball cap, the angle of which varies to distinguish between pissed off and really pissed off. He’s no Tupac.