RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Found a Bug? Squash It! Report Bugs Here
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / Upcoming / Never Die Alone
Never Die Alone

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Buy Poster External Icon
  • Visit Official Site External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Never Die Alone (2004)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
26 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:88

Fresh:23

Rotten:65

Average Rating:4.1/10

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

[See More Credits]

  • Trailers
  • Pictures
  • Never Die Alone Trailer
    >
1 of 1

See More Movie Trailers & Pictures

Reviews for Never Die Alone

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by comments; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Click to read the article

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

Sure, the bends in logic are nutty, and some of the dialogue is so outrageously street that it's laughable, but the larger-than-life star works it with everything he's got. It's a decent deal.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
03/25/04
E! Online
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
03/26/04
Boston Phoenix

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | comment Comment
03/26/04
Hollywood.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
03/26/04
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment Comment
03/27/04
Los Angeles Daily News
N/R

Click to read the article

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

Click to read the article

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

Purports to be literate film noir but comes off more like the overwritten project of a film school kid who just memorized his textbook on the style.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
03/25/04
Allison Benedikt
Allison Benedikt
Chicago Tribune

Although the flashbacks within flashbacks within some more flashbacks structure is overly convoluted, Dickerson's visual flair and Stephen Lovejoy's crisp editing actually make the story easy to follow, if not to believe.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
03/26/04
Angel Cohn
Angel Cohn
TV Guide's Movie Guide

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
Angela Baldassarre
Sympatico.ca

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
Annlee Ellingson
Boxoffice Magazine

Click to read the article

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

Instead of insight or character or milieu or anything else remotely worth exploring, we get bad attitude, lousy storytelling and abysmal performances.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
03/26/04
Bruce Kirkland
Bruce Kirkland
Jam! Movies

Completely forgettable (at least, I'm trying to forget it).

Full Review Source: TheMovieChicks.com | comment Comment
03/26/04
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
TheMovieChicks.com

Ernest Dickerson's film recycles a cinematic standby -- it's narrated by a corpse, telling us how he got that way -- but the movie's scuzzy beauty keeps it intriguing.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
03/25/04
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

Redemption eludes DMX's antihero in the soulless Never Die Alone

Full Review Source: Washington Times | comment Comment
03/26/04
Christian Toto
Christian Toto
Washington Times

King's funeral opens Never Die Alone, but his throbbing self-consciousness drives it.

Full Review Source: Nitrate Online | comment Comment
03/26/04
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
Nitrate Online

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
Daniel Eagan
Film Journal International

[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
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by comments; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
See All

More Movies

Coming Soon in Australia
Tomatometer Percentage Movie Date

— Sherlock Holmes 26/12
39% 39% The Lovely Bones 26/12
100% 100% The French Kissers 26/12
83% 83% Bright Star 26/12
— Nowhere Boy 26/12
— Alvin and the Chipmunk… 26/12
— Did You Hear About the… 26/12
05% 05% Old Dogs 26/12

What’s Hot On RT

Avatar

Avatar

Watch six new clips from the sci-fi epic

20 Must-See Films

20 Must-See Films

Your essential Summer Movie Guide

RT Survey

RT Survey

Tell us what you think of RT and win prizes!

Hot Nine Clips

Hot Nine Clips

New videos from the upcoming all-star musical

Other News

  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • New Iron Man 2 Clue Posted Source: Screen Rant
0
  • Gibson and DiCaprio are Going Norse Source: HitFix
3
  • Lord of the Rings Coming to Blu-ray April 6 Source: Hollywood Reporter
2
  • Tobey Maguire Rumored for The Hobbit Source: Latino Review
3
  • Mila Kunis Talks Aronofsky's Black Swan Source: Collider.com
12
  • Visiting the Set of The Sorcerer's Apprentice Source: ComingSoon.net
7
  • Weekly Ketchup: James Cameron Plans a Fantastic Voyage
93
  • James Cameron Talks Avatar Sequels Source: Collider.com
8
  • Natalie Portman Will Battle Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Source: Variety
36
  • Marvel Begins Iron Man 2 Viral Campaign Source: Superhero Hype
12
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Tomatometer Watch: Will Avatar Live Up To The Hype?
235
  • Total Recall: Keith David's Best Movies
81
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Girlpower Rules Again with Princess at #1
68
  • The 10 Best Trailers of the Decade?
36
  • The Gimmicks That Changed Cinema: Part 1
36
  • Awards Tour 2009: Inglourious Basterds Lead Critics Choice Noms
33
  • Weekly Ketchup: James Cameron Plans a Fantastic Voyage
31
  • The Effects of Where the Wild Things Are
29
  • Awards Tour 2009: Avatar Best Picture at NYFCO!
24
  • Robert Downey Jr. talks Sherlock Holmes & Iron Man 2 - RT Interview
21
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • Robert Downey Jr. talks Sherlock Holmes & Iron Man 2 - RT Interview
21
  • Director Ruben Fleischer Talks Zombieland
2
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
17
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
12
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
23
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
8
  • RT on DVD: Wassup, Bruno
3
  • Scott Hicks Talks The Boys Are Back
0
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Richard Kelly chats about The Box
2
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Never Die Alone at Rotten Tomatoes
  • Never Die Alone at IGN
  • Never Die Alone at AskMen

Fresh Links

Featured
Virtuoso Vistas of The Lovely Bones
Virtuoso Vistas of The Lovely Bones External Link

Techland examines the visual splendor of Peter Jackson's upcoming film.

Animated Oscar?
Animated Oscar? External Link

Hollywood.com ponders whether or not an animated film could win Best Picture.

Follow Rotten Tomatoes on Twitter
Follow Rotten Tomatoes on Twitter External Link

Get all the latest movie updates, reviews, interviews and features here.

Competitions
Win Alvin and the Chipmunks 2 prize packs
Win Alvin and the Chipmunks 2 prize packs External Link

We're giving away a bunch of stuff from the upcoming Squeakquel.

Win Inglourious Basterds DVDs
Win Inglourious Basterds DVDs External Link

We're giving away five copies of Tarantino's hit, with thanks to Universal. That's a bingo.

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.