50 Cent: Refuse 2 Die

Creatively put together using cutout style animation and cool graphics—probably out of necessity, since the filmmakers didn't have the rights to real footage of the titular rapper—this unauthorized hip-hop bio-doc is thin on content and long on hearsay. 50 Cent's (a.k.a. Curtis Jackson) thug upbringing, drug dealing, jail time, musical ambition—and, of course, his infamous nine bullet wounds—get rehashed here for the 1,000th time in fake first person narration by someone imitating "Fifty's" voice (a technique that quickly wears thin), while unattributed quotes fly by, along with snippets of inconsequential interviews with people peripheral to the star's life, such as his grandfather and a DJ. Writer-directors Rick Underhill and Mike Corbera stretch the flick to feature length with music video sequences featuring other rappers' songs (again, they didn't have the rights to any of 50 Cent's material), but why bother with this third-tier account when the semiautobiographical Get Rich or Die Tryin' will be out on DVD before long. Not recommended. Aud: P. (R. Blackwelder)