Never Die Alone (2004)
Average Rating: 4.1/10
Reviews Counted: 90
Fresh: 23 | Rotten: 67
DMX's menacing charisma is put to good use in this stylish but hackneyed modern-day noir.
Average Rating: 4.3/10
Critic Reviews: 29
Fresh: 8 | Rotten: 21
DMX's menacing charisma is put to good use in this stylish but hackneyed modern-day noir.
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Average Rating: 3.3/5
User Ratings: 10,217
Movie Info
From a script from first-time scribe James Gibson comes this filmed adaptation of ex-gangster Donald Goines' 1974 novel Never Die Alone. Directed by Ernest R. Dickerson (Juice, Bones), the films stars David Arquette as Paul Pawlowski, a reporter who takes an interest in gang kingpin King David, played by rapper/actor DMX. When King David is killed, Pawlowski happens upon the criminal's journal and envelops himself in his story. From there, the rise and fall of King David is covered in flashbacks
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Cast
-
DMX
King David -
David Arquette
Paul Pawlowski -
Michael Ealy
Mike -
Clifton Powell
Moon -
Reagan Gomez-Preston
Juanita -
Jennifer Sky
Janet -
Drew Sidora
Edna -
Antwon Tanner
Blue -
Tommy 'Tiny' Lister
Rockie -
Aisha Tyler
Nancy -
Rhoda Jordan
Brenda
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Never Die Alone Trailer & Photos
All Critics (94) | Top Critics (32) | Fresh (23) | Rotten (67) | DVD (19)
Thumbs down for me.
Top CriticA bumbling adaptation.
What makes Never Die Alone so monumentally terrible isn't just its bearhugging of gangsta flick convention, but its desperate attempt to imbue run-of-the-mill crime with noir classicism.
The various stories are strong enough to compensate for any acting deficiencies.
If not for the excessive melodrama, lousy dialogue, clumsy acting and generally nasty vibe, "Never Die Alone" could have had the kind of distinctive edge that made urban street dramas like Juice, Menace II Society...
DMX has all the charisma you'd expect of a music star, and he uses it to portray King David as larger than life.
Violent movie starring rapper DMX is not for kids.
This is not a workable drama, just a series of ideas that rap stars who worship Scarface think would be cool to see.
It's too bad the filmmakers couldn't find a way to present [Goines's] vision without resorting to some pretty threadbare clichés.
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.
[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.
Hampered by its convoluted plot and a marked melodramatic streak that counteracts the film's cool factor.
There's neither action nor thrill in this so-called action thriller, and there's really no reason to sit through it.
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.
If movies like Bad Lieutenant and Spun are your idea of a good time, then DMX has the film for you.
This is a violence-ridden movie with one of the most despicable characters you ever will see.
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...
Like its main character, Never Die Alone is beyond redemption.
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.
A misogynistic, dull-witted bore.
...the story is certainly a throwback to the films of the '70s.
David's remorse barely registers against the movie's basking in criminal excess. And with the exception of character actor Tiny Lister, the cast tries way too hard to be tough.
The only thing that could improve Never Die Alone is a caring projectionist, a lighter, and a trashcan.
Fans of Goines will want to see this, because this is the first of his works to make it to the silver screen. Other than that, there's no reason to see it.
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Movie: ID: 14896 Title: Never Die Alone Release Date: 2004-03-26 00:00:00.0 MPAA: 4 Status: 1
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