#EMINEM 8MILE RAP FULL#
Confidential” and “Wonder Boys,” obviously saw the innate drama in Eminem’s story, and he puts his considerable cinematic talent to full advantage. It illustrates why the artist has been able to sell a staggering 30 million records in the span of only four years.Ĭurtis Hanson, the Oscar-winning filmmaker of such standouts as “L.A. His rather ingenious strategy for turning the tables on defending champ Papa Doc (Anthony Mackie) supports the theory that hip-hop is more of a class thing than a race thing.Įven those put off by rap music will be mesmerized with Eminem’s linguistic skill in the finale. This all leads to a remarkable showdown as Jimmy takes on a rival crew in a verbal death match. Dueling contestants have 45 seconds to take their turn hurling abusive rhymes at each other, with a boisterous audience judging the winner.Įminem plays a rapper who uses his skills to try to escape from an The best scenes concern battles in underground clubs that are like gladiator matches where language is the sole weapon.
#EMINEM 8MILE RAP MOVIE#
The movie places viewers into a fascinatingly insular setting at a time when the musical style ranked up there with the NBA as the primary pipe dream for urban youths hoping to escape their environment. “8 Mile” is wisely set in 1995, before hip-hop had been so marginalized by the mainstream.
But when his pal Future (Mekhi Phifer) recruits him to compete in one of the weekly improvised face-offs he hosts at a local venue, Jimmy freezes as the crowd drowns him out with shouts of “choke.”įlanked by a trailer park mom (Kim Basinger, commendably portraying a character her own age), a new girlfriend Alex (Brittany Murphy) and a host of colorful friends and enemies, Jimmy gets a chance to redeem himself … and maybe to grow up a little in the process. When not spending his days working at a factory that molds auto bumpers, Jimmy hones his reputation as something of a rapping genius among his friends.
The 30-year-old wordsmith plays Jimmy “Rabbit” Smith Jr. Most of it was shot in and around the “313” neighborhoods of Detroit where Eminem grew up, and the sprawling urban blight almost becomes a character itself.
“8 Mile” has the kind of palpable authenticity that few Hollywood films ever muster. It’s not the pieces of this puzzle that are unique, but the eventual picture they create. The structure of the movie is nothing new - it follows a similar thread to “Rocky,” the recent “Blue Crush” and dozens of other inspirational tales of blue-collar perseverance. It captures the aura of a specific time and place, populates it with believable characters and delivers compelling emotional drama. The multiplatinum rapper’s debut “8 Mile,” a semi-autobiographical account of his struggles to be heard while growing up on the streets of Detroit, is the rare pop star vehicle that utterly succeeds. After just a few years in the spotlight, Eminem has accomplished something Elvis, Madonna, Michael and Mariah have not: He’s made a great movie.