“You Reap What You Sow” seems to be the motto of Never Die Alone, a film based on the novel by the late African American cult writer, Donald Goines, shortly before his untimely violent death in 1974.  Not having read the novel, I compared this to other “gangsta/drug dealer” movies seen in the past such as “Belly”, “New Jack City” “King of New York” and “Boyz In The Hood”.  King David (DMX), an aging drug dealer who spent the last ten years in jail, decides that he needs to accept responsibility in order to receive redemption.  In the first thirty minutes of the movie we understand the fact that that's never going to happen.

His ruthless, cruel, heartless character will have audiences despising him.  His use of drugs to control and manipulate others will make you hate him even more. His role is no different than his prior acting roles; not to say he's a bad actor.  The various flashbacks allowed King David's character to come back to life throughout the movie even after his death. 

Now, Michael Ealy, who plays Mike, is a totally different story.  If you know him from “Barbershop” and “Barbershop 2”, you are in for a big surprise as this gives him a shot at a major role.  His ability to project an array of emotions with utter believability makes him one to watch in the coming years. You felt his performance in your soul – that's how deep it ran.  The mere mention of King David's name made him stutter and shadowed his face with hatred.

Even though the story is centered around King David's life, it was most definitely Ealy's movie. The compassion he felt for his sister, a school girl trying to get by in a dangerous environment, was moving. The absence of a mother figure made his loyalty to his sister stronger. Ealy's talents were showcased in a scene where he watched his sister being shot to death before his eyes, while she was trying to save him. At that point, DMX was forgotten and it became apparent that Ealy is the star. At that moment, you forget that this was a hardcore gangsta/drug dealer movie – it was about another human being losing the most important thing in his life.  That raw emotion he displayed when he said “Please don't leave me” and sobbing while holding his dying sister will leave you numb for a minute or two. I had never seen that aspect of his acting and it was like “Wow, he's really doing his thing”.

David Arquette plays “Paul”, the aspiring writer who happens to be in the right and wrong place at the right and wrong time – it depends on who's telling the story.  He plays the connecting piece to the puzzle.  He finishes King David's final mission.  He is a low-key character, but nonetheless important to the end.  I was surprised he stayed alive as long as he did, driving around in a dead man's pimped out Studz Black Hawk IV, wearing his jewelry and being sought out by “Moon” the drug kingpin.

Visual effects are vital here, which made up for the length of the film. Instead of “reading between the lines”, you had to “see between the scenes”.

Another plus is the diversity of soundtracks – some Isaac Hayes, a little Curtis Mayfield, and DMX songs of course, even though I'm not a big fan of “gangster rap”. 

As far as this movie being a big blockbuster – that's exactly where it should stay