8 Mile
Eminem’s life story. Well it’s not, but I’m guessing it’s close and it seems to be the accepted basis. Solid, simple story, which, whilst being slightly cliched, works well. The main reason it works, and I know others have been saying it for some time now, is the lead role. Eminem hits the mark without looking out of his depth, if he does other films (and I wouldn’t be suprised if he did) and chooses his roles carefully then he could easily become even bigger than he is at the moment.

Supporting cast are solid enough, Kim Basinger was a disappointment again, hasn’t yet learned that underplaying things works better for her, but the rest of the cast pitched in where needed.

The highlight, which doesn’t fall short despite the hype, is the final rap ‘battle’. Some razor sharp rhymes delivered with astonishing clarity, as we’ve come to expect from Mr.Mathers. Only flaw that I can see is if, having not heard much of Eminem outside his chart entries, people flock to his albums. Might be a bit of a shock for some as his character (Rabbit) in the film is a lot cleaner living and respectful than the Eminem creation Slim Shady is/was.

In short. Good film. As Lyle says, it’s Rocky for the Noughties..