Newsweek November 1, 2007 At its best, 8 Mile illuminates the culture out of which rap springs, at once an art form, provocation and survival mechanism.
8 Mile should satisfy Eminem’s legion of fans and, at the same time, affirms rap’s power as an artform, as real beat poetry, for the un...
Despite the predictable formula, screenwriter Scott Silver wisely avoids taking the easy route every time; there are several small twists you may n...
8 Mile is entertaining to an extent. Our enjoyment is muted because the movie has an agenda.
In addition to showcasing Mathers, 8 Mile makes a case for rap as a creative rebel yell.
A fascinating, surprisingly entertaining stand-off that has adroitly managed to satisfy both of its constituencies, allowing all sides to legitimat...
Austin Chronicle November 10, 2002 Even a rapper needs to punch things up a bit, and 8 Mile, for all its hip-hop braggadocio, is a pretty weak riff.
Rolling Stone November 6, 2002 Qualifies as a cinematic event by tapping into the roots of Eminem and the fury and feeling that inform his rap.
Eminem’s edgy, graphic quasi-biopic is not for kids.
Guardian January 20, 2003 The problem is Eminem himself, who has clearly been drilled by the director to play to what will have to pass as strengths: stillness, cool, control.
In the tradition of Rocky and Fever, the movie is a shrewdly engineered piece of proletarian pop -- a story of triumph – but, like Eminem...
Observer November 6, 2002 O.K., so I’m the wrong audience for this teenage junk.
Austin Chronicle November 10, 2002 Even a rapper needs to punch things up a bit, and 8 Mile, for all its hip-hop braggadocio, is a pretty weak riff.
Salon.com November 8, 2002 Can Eminem act? Who knows? But his star turn in 8 Mile, as an aspiring rapper growing up poor and white in Motown, is memorable – ev...
There are a lot of stale – and nefarious – clichés in 8 Mile (Universal), but most of the time they’re overwhelmed by the...
In the tradition of Rocky and Fever, the movie is a shrewdly engineered piece of proletarian pop -- a story of triumph – but, like Eminem...
Slant Magazine November 5, 2002 As a vanity project, the film is more tolerable than Purple Rain but it’s every bit as obvious and redundant.
RogerEbert.com November 8, 2002 We are hardly started in 8 Mile, and already we see that this movie stands aside from routine debut films by pop stars … Like Prince&rsqu...
USA Today November 8, 2002 Eminem steals the picture from a cast with snap down to the smallest parts.
Globe and Mail November 8, 2002 Some movies, a very few, possess the purity of myth, and they don’t have to be great to be greatly important. The Wild One is an example; Sat...
New York Post November 8, 2002 What makes 8 Mile transcend the formulaic nature of its plot is the way it makes these rap competitions compelling even for those unfamil...
old.bfi.org.uk February 4, 2003 8 Mile may have corniness in its bones, but there are ambiguities enough here for a whole other movie.
edition.cnn.com November 8, 2002 While it’s doubtful that Eminem could run out and perform Shakespeare tomorrow, his talents on screen – in this role – are astounding.
A solidly built, rather old-fashioned yarn about a plucky underdog who triumphs in the face of adversity.
The New Republic December 2, 2002 The story is all right: The picture’s real excellence is its portrait of the society in which it takes place.
Times (UK) January 2, 2018 While not exactly wow, Eminem is solid and credible in a role which could so easily have screeched like chalk across a wet blackboard.
ae.freep.com November 6, 2002 A movie that will satisfy hip-hop and Eminem fans in ways they never expected; even more significantly, it will touch people who thought they hated...
8 Mile is worth a look if only to watch Eminem on the big screen. Even when a film’s a bit lame, it’s always fun to be there when...
Since his ascension to pop-culture royalty, Eminem has transformed the messy emotions of his life into musical black comedy. In 8 Mile, t...
Observer November 22, 2002 I have to go back to James Dean in Elia Kazan’s East of Eden and Nicholas Ray’s Rebel Without a Cause in 1955 to find a compa...
[8 Mile is] more funny than foul, more inspiring than infuriating, more touching than not. In many ways, 8 Mile is a Rocky-like tale of d...
The triumph here is that Hanson and screenwriter Scott Silver have found a fresh way to tell this story.
If not strictly autobiography, the movie is close enough to Eminem’s story that he knows how this character feels. If this turns out to be th...
Following L.A. Confidential and Wonder Boys, this makes a remarkable hat-trick for Hanson and is a personal triumph for Eminem.
Because it rejects easy victories, this may be one of the few inspirational movies that could actually inspire someone, somewhere, sometime.
ReelViews November 10, 2002 In many ways, the movie is just one big cliché, but Hanson’s style gives it more weight and heft than it might otherwise have.