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Shortly before his murder Tupac wore a shirt in one
photo that had “Thug Life” on it in big, bold letters. That
accurately describes the type of rap that he and his East
Coast rival the Notorious B.I.G. performed which glorified
the criminal lifestyle and urban drama that surround them
as they grew up. It also took their lives. The debate about
who killed Christopher Wallace aka B.I.G. and Tu Pac and
whether it grew out of their out-of-control increasingly
violent rivalry (the two began as friends) is still open
to debate. No one who is talking knows who killed these
popular, talented entertainers except the men who were shot
and their shooters. ***
Ultimately, “Notorious” gives us the “big” picture
(pardon the pun) but truly fails in telling us about “Biggie”
(his nick name)in any meaningful way. This is the type of
biopic that I would have expected to see on a minor network
shortly after the death of Biggie. As a comparison, this
reminds me of all the Elvis and John Lennon biopics that
got so much wrong and so little right that were made in
the wake of their deaths. The few good ones (the TV movie
“Elvis” directed by John Carpenter and starring Kurt Russell—where
is that fellas?—being on eof the few examples of a nearly
perfect biopic because of the strong direction AND performances).
Perhaps it takes the distance of time to allow talent to
tackle real life individuals with candor, wit and intelligence.
“Notorious” has none of these things although some of the
individuals performances are quite good they are overwhelmed
by mediocre writing by Cheo Hodari Coker and Reggie Rock
Blythewood and uninspired direction by George Tillman Jr.
***
“Notorious” gives us a series of snapshots of Wallace’s
life and is as lasting as those snapshots. The images quickly
fade because there isn’t enough content to truly do justice
to the lives of these complex individuals. “Notorious” does
little beyond glorifying the lifestyle that trapped Wallace
and ultimately led to his death without giving us a clear
cut understanding as to what drove him and the dangerous
elements around him to snuff out one of the most creative
forces in the rap community at the time. ***
Beginning with Wallace’s youth (Wallace’s son plays
him as a boy) and moving on to when he truly found his “voice”
(where rapper Jamal Woolard takes over in the role), “Notorious”
is underwhelming because of a paint-by-numbers approach
to the direction, dialog that sounds like it came out of
a bad MTV movie and weak performances surrounding the main
actors in the film. “Biggie” as he became known initially
made an impression by selling crack on street corners as
he expands his skills as a rapper trying to break free of
the drug world that surrounds him. Although his mother (Angela
Bassett in a solid performance where she has to turn sh*t
into shinola with awful dialog that sounds like it was imported
from a Lifetime TV movie)provided “Biggie” with the positive
influence of a caring role model, the rap world mired in
violence, drugs and insane rivalry of street gangs captures
Biggie’s soul. Rather than becoming a chronicler of the
damaging urban world around him he becomes a major player
in that world. ***
Biggie gets busted, does his time and makes a demo that
catches the eye of Sean “Puffy” Combs (Derek Luke)who immediately
recognizes Biggie’s talent and signs him. Biggie almost
ends up in prison again when he and a friend get busted
on a weapons charge—his friend takes the fall to keep Biggie
out of jail and allow him to pursue his music dreams. As
he rises in the world of rap music, Biggie becomes friends
and, later, a violent rival of Tupac (Anthony Mackie) and
continually makes attempts to get his derailed life back
on the tracks ultimately doing so just before his assassination.
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Image & Sound:
The Blu-ray transfer looks surprisingly good. I say
surprisingly because having viewed the DVD, I expected major
issues with the transfer. Images are crisp, sharp and blacks
solid througout the presentation. The Blu-ray truly comes
to life however during darker sequences and night scenes
with sharper resolution and detail evident when compared
to the DVD. If you're going to buy this and have a Blu-ray
player (or Playstation 3) go for the Blu-ray.
*** Audio isn’t bad with a decent 5.1 mix that focuses
on dialog. Music sounds decent as well although it is compressed
sounding. The 5.1 is nicely used during music scenes and
the few bits of action in the film.
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