Get Rich or Die Tryin’ / *** (R)

Inspired by the true story of gangsta rap artist Curtis (50 Cent) Jackson, it tells a harrowing story: He never knew his father, was orphaned by the early death of his mother, was selling drugs as a teenager, was shot but lived and eventually sold millions of albums. The film has parallels with a better one, “Hustle & Flow,” which has fewer drugs and more music, but this one has a power and anger of its own. A more accurate title might have been, “I Got Rich But Just About Everybody Else Died Tryin’, and So Did I, Almost.” Jackson plays the character based on himself, Terence Howard is his friend and manager, Joy Bryant is the woman who loves him, and there are good supporting performances by Viola Davis as his grandmother and Bill Duke as a drug kingpin. Directed by Jim (“In America”) Sheridan.

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