February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
“Get Rich or Die Tryin,” Jim Sheridan’s brutally violent new rap movie, is a sonic assault from the opening credits — the heavy bass thump of the soundtrack wobbles Declan Quinn’s cameras as a gangster crew drives in a stolen SUV to the South Bronx to carry out an armed robbery.
By the time the robbery goes wrong and relentless gunfire thunders out of the cinema speakers, viewers in the first few rows will feel like they should be wearing Kevlar vests for protection against stray bullets.
Countless rounds later, nine of those bullets end up in the body of gang leader Marcus “Little Caesar” Greer, resulting in a near-death experience that convinces him to quit his life of crime and become a rapper.
“Get Rich Or Die Tryin” charts the rise of Little Caesar from orphaned teen to street-corner crack dealer to hip-hop star, a rags-to-riches Cinderella tale as much as a “Rocky” riff — if Cinderella was built like Mike Tyson, covered in prison-grade tattoos, and had Eminem as her fairy godmother.
Based on the bio of real-life multi-platinum hardcore rapper and Eminem proteg