Chris Rock: Never Scared (2004)

I gave it a 7.5 out of 10

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

Never been totally sold on Chris Rock myself but I do tend to like angry and outrageous comedians at times and so I decided to check out this special. What I was looking for is the same as always which is lots of energy and strong language but that it is all used in context of a funny and insightful routine. Mostly this is what I got here as Rock covers topics such as marriage, parenthood, rap music and so on. The audience seemed more engaged than I was but I was still laughing along in an amused rather than "in hysterics" way. I think the reason for this is perhaps that Rock is really good with an audience and plays off them with great energy and timing - some of that does come across on the screen but not to the extent that I'm sure it is up close and personal.This helps him anyway because it can only be a good thing for a performer for your weaker moments to be met by frantic laughter, nodding and knee-slapping. Or at least that is how it works here because some of his material is not as smart or as based in realism as I would have liked, even if the majority of it is pretty sharp. Perhaps understandably he doesn't get into challenging the things he is joking about and as a result the viewer can ignore the shoe whether it fits or not. This does detract a little from his "importance" as a comedian but not his ability to get a laugh.Never Scared is pretty funny even if I never found it hilarious. The broad caricatures and gags are mostly based in reality to make for a satisfying comedy but some viewers will lose the good in the fact that it is very crude and sexually graphic in the content. To others this will be part of the appeal and this is often the way of things, but the show itself is just about good enough to appeal to the casual viewer as well as fans of Rock and this style of comedy.

After a four year absence from stand-up,Chris Rock still know how to make the audience laugh. He is very brilliant and is up-to-date with the social issues that's going on today. He is now a father,and I don't think anyone can say that he is truly happy about marriage because he describes a lot of stress-related situations towards the matrimony. But a lot of comics hide their pain through their jokes and he does in a way that the audience can relate. Chris admits he is 39 ("that's right New Jack City was a long time ago")and still enjoy how hip-hop has evolve through a different art. He has a youthful intelligent outlook on life and gain respect from people of all ages. This is not his best stand-up but Chris will sure leave you in tears. A 8.5 out of 10 as compared to Bigger and Blacker.

I'm going to disagree with you Mr. Stanton when I say this show was enjoyable.But Chris Rock, can do great things and can say some great things, so it wasn't as vapid as you suggested.There are times Chris seemed to fall on old standby concepts too often: the sexual vulgarity, didn't quite pull that off as well as Bigger and Blacker, I couldn't tell whether Chris was committing treason or comitting murder, but some things just did not fly.Overall I enjoyed the show, though it wasn't Chris at his best.

While not nearly the epic performance of comedy-God proportions that was '96's "Bring The Pain," or even a show as good as his relaxed (by Chris Rock standards) '99 follow up "Bigger and Blacker," "Never Scared" is Chris Rock doing once again what he was meant to do. Rock, as demonstrated by his uneven movies, doesn't quite dominate any other medium like he does stand-up, and if anything it's great to see him at it again after a 4 year layoff. The material is somewhat more serious (abortion, gay marriage, the war in Iraq and a pointed defense of affirmative action are amongst the topics), and some of the lighter stuff has been covered in past shows (relationships, to name one) but to hear Rock's patented gravelly voice/shouted delivery is sweet music to the comedy ears. He rants better than anyone in the entertainment industry, and his frequent swears are anthemic when they would be perceived as simply overkill from anyone else. Rock is not quite as over-the-top as in past performances. At a few instances his exasperation seems a little forced, but throughout the show it's relatively unnoticeable. I won't ruin any one-liners, but there were a few classics. All in all a great way to spend 80 minutes, even if it doesn't quite compare to the high standard Rock has set for himself.Bring The Pain: 10 Bigger and Blacker: 8.5 Never Scared: 7.5