Eminem

In 8 Mile (2002), Eminem lets Jimmy sulk without asking us to find it endearing. He seems used to being underestimated, and angry that he still has to put up with it. We rate the performance because it makes this familiar underdog worth following even when he is poor company. Curtis Hanson leaves enough of that unpleasantness intact to keep the character from becoming an agreeable guide through a predictable story.

An early appearance in The Wash (2001) preceded Jimmy, but 8 Mile did not lead to a sustained career in substantial roles. Later appearances as himself in Funny People (2009) and The Interview (2014) made room for self-referential comedy. He also played White Boy Rick in BMF (2021), and took a comic role in Happy Gilmore 2 (2025). That leaves a fairly small body of work on which to judge him, and little reason to treat one convincing lead as proof he could play anything.

The rap battles give him something more precise to do with the anger. We were gripped by the rapping because Jimmy's effort to find and deliver the words made us care about him more than his brooding had. Editors Jay Rabinowitz and Craig Kitson keep the exchanges moving while allowing each line time to register. Hanson makes the contests easy to follow even for those of us with no particular interest in rap, while Eminem makes the pressure of performing convincing.

Away from those contests, the limitations are harder to overlook. Eminem returns to the same sour mood often enough that Hanson has too little to vary, and the stretches between battles can drag. The film also gives its women too little attention, which leaves even more depending on a central performance that cannot supply every kind of interest. We would welcome another lead that asks him to do something as absorbing as Jimmy's rapping, rather than simply find more reasons to look aggrieved.