Just perfect...

A Disappointing Continuation

Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

Blistering performances.

Slight spoilers.The most obvious comparison is Scarface, of course. Scarface was an interesting movie, because it took a rather uncompromising, unglamorous look at a repugnant character -- one who had been glamorized in numerous other movies. The greatest pity is that some people STILL managed to view Scarface in that glamorous light.Never Die Alone runs with that. It tempts you to empathize with the protagonist, a drug dealer who has been talking about redemption, righting his past wrongs, paying his dues, and making things right. The movie opens with his death, which is revealed to be brutal and arbitrary. However, as you learn about the man's life, you come to hate him, realize that he's a monster, and all his talk of "redemption" is just bullshit. King David is a despicable sociopath, and watching him ruin the lives of everyone else in the movie is not an easy thing.It's a powerful story, but there are some problems. First, it's a bit preachy. Second, the pacing can get a bit slow at times. The sex scenes, in particular, struck me as a bit boring. The brutality may bother some sensitive viewers. It's not the violence itself that's so disturbing; rather, it's that the violence is depicted realistically. There are consequences to the actions taken, and they are far-reaching, rather than the traditional Hollywood consequence-free violence that solves every problem. Many people have criticized the acting, but I thought it was fine. The directing wasn't exactly inspired, but I like Dickerson. His style isn't artistic or showy, and I doubt he'll ever transcend his B-movie roots, but his gritty, retro-blaxploitation influences work for me.

"King" David(DMX, who's... a better rapper than he is an actor; in general, the performances are "fine" or worse), a charming scumbag(who does genuinely possess both qualities), returns to pay his debts to Moon, the dealer he screwed over, among others(and to narrate this entire thing, as his exploits in LA are shown in flashback). Only it's too late. He's done too much to just "make amends", and he doesn't realize in time. His return sparks a series of events involving both of the aforementioned, and Mike, who works for the latter and is very protective of his sister. You can somewhat figure out a number of the places this story of revenge and karma goes, but at least it does take itself seriously, keeping to the bleak tone throughout. The environment is brutal and unflinching. There's essentially no likable characters in this, just degrees of despicable. That's intentional, it's part of the approach, but it does make it a straining viewing experience. At least it does keep to a nice pace and it gets going immediately. It's pretty tense and exciting. This is largely realistic and psychologically credible. The hand-held cinematography is quite good(and immersive), if the occasional 90 degree angle turn is off-putting. There is a lot of graphic, bloody violence, disturbing content, strong language and direct sexuality in this. The DVD comes with an informational and interesting commentary track(with the star, director and screenwriter), 10 minutes of "meh" deleted scenes, a 5 and a half minute decent making of featurette, trailers for Inkasso, Saw, Paparazzi, The Machinist, Af Banen, Hotel Rwanda, Merchant of Venice, A Home at the end of the World and this. I recommend this to fans of gruesome ghetto dramas. 6/10

At first glance of the film's movie poster, many viewers, before seeing Ernest Dickerson's Never Die Alone (2004), will assume it is an action picture like Scarface (1983) and New Jack City (1991). This isn't an action picture, but a drama, although it does deserve comparison to the latter movies.Never Die Alone is the story of a viscous, cold blooded, and evil man known as King David. As the movie opens, King David (DMX) is laying dead in a coffin. Many will see this as a spoiler, but it isn't. This movie isn't about the events that occur, but about the story and the characters.As the film opens, King David has returned from Los Angeles to New York to repay a debt to a drug dealer known as Moon (Clifton Powell). Moon sends his boy, Mike (Michael Ealy), and another man to collect the money.But then the pickup turns violent against Moon's request, and King David ends up getting stabbed in the process. He is helped by Paul (David Arquette), an earnest journalist who hangs around in the tough streets of Harlem. Paul comes to the aid of David, and, of course, King David dies.Upon his death, King David gives Paul a nice car, money, jewelry, and eventually, Paul finds a collection of audiotapes chronicling the last ten years of David's life.We learn that King David was a ladies' man. The women in his life were all drug users. But what King David does to these three women is monstrous: he falls in love with them, gets to know them, then hooks them on cocaine. Then he switches them to heroin without them knowing. What's monstrous is when he decides to give them a little "test." DMX, as King David, is hard and cold. Just as we begin to care and show sympathy for King David, we begin to show hatred towards this vile, and evil man. Through flashbacks and events, we realize that King David is a man who shows no apologies for the evil things he's done, and he makes them look like an everyday activity.The film also seems to suggest that there is some sort of connection between both Mike and King David.DMX has done some terrible films in the past, such as Romeo Must Die (2000), Exit Wounds (2001), and Cradle 2 the Grave (2003), which were all mindless action pictures meant to entertain, but in Never Die Alone, he gives his best performance up to date.Never Die Alone is a good movie, but I felt that David Arquette's character was poorly developed, but he gives a good performance, anyway. In the end we never know whether he has shown remorse for King David or felt that he deserved to die for what he's done. But Paul is more of a pawn than a mover to the plot. Half the time, he doesn't realize how much danger he's putting his life in, such as when he drives around in King David's car.Cinematographer-turned-director Ernest Dickerson creates a dark atmosphere and he keeps the film dark to the very end. He keeps the action scenes brief and brutal, and it doesn't distract the viewer away from the plot. This is his strongest work.Never Die Alone is not an action picture. It's a movie about an evil man, who shows no apologies for the evil things he's done to others. By the end, the movie asks Paul, the journalist, and even the viewer, do you think King David really deserved to die?

This movie surprised me in many ways starting from King David ( played by DMX) King is not the type of character people will fall for like Scarface who was an Anti-hero with remorse. Unlike belly, king David is more ruthless and has no pity for the ones he kills. DMX handles the character very well. Not only is he a hell of a good rapper, but he can bring out a performance in a movie that will impress some viewers. David arquette might seem overshadowed by the other actors,but he also plays an important part of this movie. Micheal ealy and Antwon Tanner who plays mike and blue are very likable, in fact they pretty much remind me of Tony Montana and Manolo in Scarface. Clifton powell who plays moon is one that you either love or hate. I just happened to find him a pimp like character who keeps his word, but cannot be trusted. The rest of the cast did an amazing job and the story is well done, but can be twisted at times that people will have to watch it two or three times to get it right. Overall, I think this is one of the best films I've seen and for those who like gangster movies, you won't be disappointed.