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Movies / On DVD / Never Die Alone
Never Die Alone

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Never Die Alone (2004)

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26 %
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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.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for strong violence, drug use, sexuality and language

Runtime: 89 mins

Genre: Action/Adventure

Theatrical Release:Mar 26, 2004 Wide

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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Release:

Jul 13, 2004

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Reviews for Never Die Alone

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Reviews
Tomatometer Critic Review Category
splat
2/5

Jim Lane

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Aug., 07 2008 03:17 AM

Sacramento News & Review

splat
1/4

Joe Lozito

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Dec., 27 2007 03:15 AM

Big Picture Big Sound

N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jul., 21 2005 03:39 AM

Houston Chronicle

splat
1/5

Garth Franklin

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Apr., 02 2005 10:59 PM

Dark Horizons

splat
1/5

David Cornelius

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: | comment Comment | Jul., 28 2004 10:26 AM

eFilmCritic.com

N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jun., 14 2004 08:17 AM

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

splat

Daniel Eagan

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: | comment Comment | May., 20 2004 09:12 AM

Film Journal International

splat
D

Brian Orndorf

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Apr., 24 2004 08:33 AM

FilmJerk.com

splat

Sean Burns

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: | comment Comment | Apr., 16 2004 01:48 AM

Philadelphia Weekly

tomato
3/5

Daniel M. Kimmel

[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: | comment Comment | Apr., 03 2004 10:50 AM

Worcester Telegram & Gazette

splat
2.5/5

Annlee Ellingson

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

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Apr., 03 2004 08:34 AM

Boxoffice Magazine

splat
1/4

Sarah Chauncey

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: | comment Comment | Apr., 02 2004 02:33 PM

Reel.com

splat
.5/4

Willie Waffle

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: | comment Comment | Apr., 02 2004 07:23 AM

WaffleMovies.com

splat

Todd Gilchrist

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

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 31 2004 05:14 PM

FilmStew.com

splat
2/4

Linda Cook

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

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 31 2004 01:50 PM

Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)

tomato
3.5/4

John Beifuss

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: | comment Comment | Mar., 30 2004 11:12 AM

Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

splat
1/4

Jeffrey Westhoff

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

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 29 2004 02:13 PM

Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

splat

Richard Roeper

Thumbs down for me.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 29 2004 01:25 PM

Ebert & Roeper

splat

Angela Baldassarre

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: | comment Comment | Mar., 29 2004 12:07 PM

Sympatico.ca

tomato
2.5/4

David Nusair

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

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 28 2004 08:19 AM

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