Get Rich or Die Tryin’ is 8 Mile meets New Jack City, though not quite as classic as the latter and with less music than the first. The semi-autobiographical movie is based on 50 Cent’s life and even if you don’t like the multi-platinum rapper, you might appreciate his on-screen alter-ego.

The movie starts with a group of black men and one petrified white kid in an SUV and music playing so loud that the side view mirror shakes. The chorus, “I’ll whip ya head boy,” rings out – and I start to worry. Two hours and 14 minutes of 50 Cent confirming stereotypes? Well, yes and no.

True, he’s a drug dealer and then becomes a rapper. But the story behind both choices gives audience members some explanation of how life outcomes are often a result of surroundings.

In manner of gangster movies before it, like Carlito’s Way, Jim Sheridan’s Get Rich starts with the main character, Marcus, telling his life story on his deathbed. The flashback takes you through a rough childhood with his drug-dealing mom and a stint in prison but, because it is a story about triumph, the movie also chronicles a pretty huge comeback.

Because the movie is 50 Cent’s first, you might expect the worst. And in Get Rich, you get it. Lines like “I’m a gangster grandpa and I’m proud of it,” are quite laughable, several rhymes are ridiculously wack and the story is often predictable. In some ways 50 isn’t even convincing as himself.

But you also get some real talent. Terrance Howard’s ability to steal a scene, Joy Bryant’s glow and some of the hottest rhymes 50 has crafted since the album Get Rich or Die Tryin’.

In the end, you actually learn some valuable lessons from Get Rich: 50 will never have Will Smith’s talent and playing yourself can sometimes be a challenge, but if you have as much charm as the former, you can capture an audience despite cinematic shortcomings.

– Niema Jordan