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Never Die Alone

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Never Die Alone (2004)

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25 %
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Reviews Counted: 87

Fresh: 22

Rotten:65

Average Rating: 4/10

Consensus: DMX's menacing charisma is put to good use in this stylish but hackneyed modern-day noir.

Runtime: 89 mins

Genre: Action/Adventure

US Box Office: $5,531,230

Synopsis: Based on cult novelist Donald Goines’ novel of the same name, NEVER DIE ALONE is a richly literate film noir about King David (DMX), a hard-boiled, stylish criminal who returns to his hometown... Based on cult novelist Donald Goines’ novel of the same name, NEVER DIE ALONE is a richly literate film noir about King David (DMX), a hard-boiled, stylish criminal who returns to his hometown seeking redemption but finding only violent death. But he did not die alone...King David’s final moments are spent with Paul (David Arquette) an aspiring journalist who knew him just a few minutes but upon whose life he would forever have an impact. King David – half preacher, half Satan, and all street smarts – had recorded the story of his recent exploits on audiotape, leaving behind an often-poetic sermon on villainy and its consequences. The tapes reveal that the cycle of violence and retribution his actions have spawned has come back on him full circle, as he suspected it might all along... One of the most prolific and widely read black authors of his generation, Donald Goines wrote his first two books while incarcerated, and followed those with an astonishing 16 novels written from the time he was released from prison in 1970 until he was shot to death in 1974. The film is directed by Ernest Dickerson whose directorial debut was the 1992 drama JUICE, starring Omar Epps and the late Tupac Shakur. Previously Dickerson served as Director of Photography on seven of Spike Lee’s early films up to and including MALCOLM X. He has directed a number of feature and made-for-TV films from the recent horror movie BONES starring Snoop Dogg to the Peabody Award-winning Showtime movie "Strange Justice," based on the controversy surrounding Anita Hill and Clarence Thomas. Dickerson most recently directed the drama GOOD FENCES, starring Danny Glover and Whoopi Goldberg, which had its world premiere at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. DMX is a top rap artist who has also found great success in the film business. He starred opposite Jet Li in CRADLE 2 THE GRAVE and also appeared in BELLY, ROMEO MUST DIE and EXIT WOUNDS, for which he received a Blockbuster Breakthrough Actor nomination. His first four albums debuted at number one and sold well over 22 million records in just four years. David Arquette starred in the box office smash hits SCREAM 1, 2 and 3, which won him the Blockbuster Favorite Actor Award in 1998. For his leading role in NEVER BEEN KISSED, he was awarded the 2000 Blockbuster Award for Favorite Supporting Actor. He recently drew acclaim for his portrayal of an inmate at Auschwitz II-Birkenau in Tim Blake Nelson’s drama THE GREY ZONE. -- © Fox Searchlight [More]

Starring: DMX, David Arquette, Michael Ealy, Reagan Preston-Gomez

Starring: DMX, David Arquette, Michael Ealy, Reagan Preston-Gomez, Clifton Powell

Director: Ernest R. Dickerson

Director: Ernest R. Dickerson
Screenwriter: James Gibson
Producer: Earl Simmons, Alessandro Camon
Composer: George Duke
Studio: Fox Searchlight Pictures

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Reviews for Never Die Alone

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
Arrange By: Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

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Full Review Source: Dark Horizons | comment Comment
04/02/05
Garth Franklin
Dark Horizons
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
08/07/08
Jim Lane
Sacramento News & Review

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound | comment Comment
12/27/07
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
07/21/05
Houston Chronicle

This is not a workable drama, just a series of ideas that rap stars who worship Scarface think would be cool to see.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
07/28/04
David Cornelius
eFilmCritic.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
06/14/04
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

It's too bad the filmmakers couldn't find a way to present [Goines's] vision without resorting to some pretty threadbare clichés.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
05/20/04
Daniel Eagan
Film Journal International

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: FilmJerk.com | comment Comment
04/24/04
Brian Orndorf
FilmJerk.com

His death was moving; his life was not. It's a requiem for a scumbag--one who left a whole lotta decent people destroyed in his wake.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Weekly | comment Comment
04/16/04
Sean Burns
Philadelphia Weekly

[A] gritty film noir [about] a sleazy drug pusher looking for redemption, but who – in classic noir fashion – learns that there is no escaping paying for one’s past sins.

Full Review Source: Worcester Telegram & Gazette | comment Comment
04/03/04
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette

Hampered by its convoluted plot and a marked melodramatic streak that counteracts the film's cool factor.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
04/03/04
Annlee Ellingson
Boxoffice Magazine

There's neither action nor thrill in this so-called action thriller, and there's really no reason to sit through it.

Full Review Source: Reel.com | comment Comment
04/02/04
Sarah Chauncey
Reel.com

Never Die Alone is one of those dreadful movies that wants us to think it is deep and philosophical, but it's junk masquerading as art.

Full Review Source: WaffleMovies.com | comment Comment
04/02/04
Willie Waffle
WaffleMovies.com

If movies like Bad Lieutenant and Spun are your idea of a good time, then DMX has the film for you.

Full Review Source: FilmStew.com | comment Comment
03/31/04
Todd Gilchrist
FilmStew.com

This is a violence-ridden movie with one of the most despicable characters you ever will see.

Full Review Source: Quad City Times (Davenport, IA) | comment Comment
03/31/04
Linda Cook
Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)

This 'gangsta noir' is a worthy heir to both 'blaxploitation' and to the Warner Bros. gangster classics that linked economic hardship and the allure of crime...

Full Review Source: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) | comment Comment
03/30/04
John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

Like its main character, Never Die Alone is beyond redemption.

Full Review Source: Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL) | comment Comment
03/29/04
Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

Thumbs down for me.

Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment Comment
03/29/04
Richard Roeper
Ebert & Roeper
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A pimped-up facsimile of David Goines' novel. I can't think of a more apt description of this misogynist and deeply flawed film noir.

Full Review Source: Sympatico.ca | comment Comment
03/29/04
Angela Baldassarre
Sympatico.ca

...the story is certainly a throwback to the films of the '70s.

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
03/28/04
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
 
 
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