8 Mile (2002)

8 Mile is Rocky with a notebook instead of boxing gloves, and you can call every underdog beat from the parking lot. Rough job, rough home, a rival crew, a girl with one foot out of town, a big night at the end. The parts are standard. What isn’t standard is Eminem. He plays Jimmy small and closed off, a guy who mutters through most of his scenes and then comes alive the second there’s a beat. The lunch break battle at the factory, where he sticks up for a coworker, is where the movie catches fire. Mekhi Phifer’s Future believes in Jimmy harder than Jimmy does. Kim Basinger’s mom is a mess the movie never quite figures out, and Brittany Murphy’s Alex is more plot device than person. Detroit looks cold, gray and real. It made $242.9 million worldwide. A 7.0 because the formula is old and the lead makes it feel brand new. $993 says you scribble a rhyme in your phone notes on the bus tomorrow and delete it before anyone sees.

What works: Eminem’s closed-off, believable lead performance, the lunch break battle at the factory, and a cold, lived-in Detroit.

What doesn’t: The underdog story hits every expected beat on schedule, and Brittany Murphy’s Alex is written as a plot device instead of a person.

Who it’s for: Older teens and grown-ups who love underdog stories, and anyone who ever froze up right when it counted.