DMX, Michael Ealy, Drew Sidora

There's nothing like a violent, foul-mouthed, drug-laden, misogynistic, post-adolescent gangsta fantasy to teach you (heh heh) that crime doesn't pay. Whassup with Never Die Alone, bro? Here's ...( read more  read more... )a pulp-driven movie that wants it both ways, glorifying virtually every negative black-male stereotype in the book (illiterates with absentee parents, gold-toothed pimps, hooded gangstas, bling-bling drug dealers, thugs, and assorted hip-hop wannabes) while presenting a gritty neo-noir crime story of an ill-fated heroin dealer and woman-hater (rapper-turned-bad-actor DMX) who seeks redemption but has too much bad karma to survive. Based on the influential 1974 novel by Donald Goines and directed with plenty of dark-city style by Ernest R. Dickerson, this hard-hitting but woefully trashy crime thriller is rather ambitious in its narrative structure, weaving past and present in telling a doomed man's tale. David Arquette brings urgent desperation to his role as a seedy writer whose inner-city research turns into a violent nightmare, and Michael Ealy is equally good as a vengeful gangsta with blood ties to DMX's character. But what's the real lesson here? In a movie with no moral compass, it's no wonder everyone's spinning off in all the wrong directions. --Jeff Shannon

Flixster Users

68% liked it

9,357 ratings

Critics

26% liked it

88 critics

R, 89 min.

Directed by: Ernest R. Dickerson

Release Date: March 26, 2004

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DVD Release Date: July 13, 2004

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Stats: 392 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (392)


  • November 4, 2006
    i didnt like it
  • May 20, 2006
    It is a DMX film. I shouldn't have enjoyed it... in fact, I shouldn't have even sat through it. But one would do well to notice that the moral bankruptcy at hand is so poignant and so bawdy that one almost loses a piece of their own luggage just to see DMX with rage incarnate, ta...( read more)ke down his oppressors, good or bad.

    Damaging and chaotic, this is a shaky crime story that isn't perfect but due to what is to expected from its premise and cast, it is indeed surprisingly passionate about what it has to say and do.
  • July 18, 2009
    Disappointed with this one. Had a few moments where I thought okay this movie might have some promise. The only character you somewhat care for is the one played by Michael Ealy. He was the only one who seemed to have depth where the others appeared to be superficial and lost.
  • September 29, 2009
    Somehow this dark fiction, seems to work out very well.
  • September 24, 2009
    what a story but great cast love the feel and gritiness of the film
  • September 13, 2009
    Good movie to watch with your friends
  • July 5, 2009
    OMG...This was the most horrible piece of film ever created. DMX, don't quit your day job, even though the CD sales have gone down.
  • June 30, 2009
    brutal, very brutal tale. one of dmx best
  • January 7, 2009
    wow umn just seen this movie 4 the 1st time n think that this is a good movie 2 watch...its got a really good cast of actors/actressess throughout this movie...i think that dmx plays a good part throughout this movie...i think that the gun shoot outs n the car chase scenes are pr...( read more)etty kewl thorughout this movie as well...i think that david arquette also plays a good part throughout this movie,,,i think that the director of this Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense, Drama movie had done a really good job of directing this movie because you never know what 2 expect throughout this movie because the director keeps you on the edge's of your seats throughout this movie its a really good Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense, Drama movie 2 watch
  • May 13, 2008
    This movie was just plain bad.

Critic Reviews


March 26, 2004
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Never Die Alone is [Dickerson's] best work to date, with the complexity of serious fiction and the nerve to start dark and stay dark, to follow the logic of its story right down to its inevitable end. full review

March 26, 2004
Ty Burr, Boston Globe

A flashy but ultimately routine saga of gangsta criminality and payback. full review

March 25, 2004
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

A hackneyed tale of vengeance set in the 'hood, teeming with stock characters, slo-mo gunplay, and rampant misogyny. full review

March 20, 2004
Nick Schager, Slant Magazine

Never Die Alone discards logic and reason for a farcically overblown orgy of uninhibited sex, drugs and gaudy materialism. full review

View more Never Die Alone reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

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