En opløftende historie om Sean Porter, som er tilsynsværge på et ungdomsfængsel og sætter et amerikansk fodboldhold sammen af den brogede gruppe unge indsatte, der har været ude i hård kriminalitet, men nu gennem sporten lærer om selvrespekt og ansvar for deres omverden.
Ice Cube stars as Darius Stone, a thrill-seeking troublemaker whose criminal record and extreme sports obsession make him the perfect candidate to be the newest XXX agent. He must save the U.S. government from a deadly conspiracy led by five-star general and Secretary of Defense George Deckert (played by Willem Dafoe).
The setting is Detroit in 1995. The city is divided by 8 Mile, a road that splits the town in half along racial lines. A young white rapper, Jimmy “B-Rabbit” Smith Jr summons strength within himself to cross over these arbitrary boundaries to fulfill his dream of success in hip hop. With future and the three one third all he has to do is not choke.