Review of All Eyez on Me (2017) by Patrick L — 20 Oct 2017

"All Eyez on Me means well but it's a highly flawed and egregious biopic that doesn't do any justice to Tupac Shakur's phenom status and massive following".

Movie Review: All Eyez on Me.

Date Viewed: July 2 2017.

Directed By Benny Boom (Next Day Air).

Written By Jeremy Haft, Eddie Gonzalez and Steven Bagatourian.

Starring: Demetrius Shipp Jr., Kat Graham, Lauren Cohan, Jamie Hector, Danai Gurira, Annie Ilonzeh, Jamal Woolard, Dominic L. Santana, Grace Gibson, Lian Amado, Stefon Washington, Chris Clarke, Clifton Powell, Johnell Young, Jermel Howard, Azad Arnaud, Jarrett Ellis, Keith Robinson, Harold House Moore and Hill Harper.

All eyez definitely weren't looking at "All Eyez on Me" because it is just your standard rap artist biopic with no stakes or surprises. It's a biographical drama about the life and legacy of Tupac Shakur who was one of the most influential rappers of our time. Not only was he a prolific singer and actor, he was also an activist and even a poet. Demetrius Shipp Jr. is the one good thing about the movie, not only is he really good as Tupac Shakur, he also looks like him. As good as his performance is, "All Eyez on Me" doesn't do anything to secure Shakur's legacy or the rest of the film for that matter.

"All Eyez on Me" feels more like a Wikipedia page on Tupac than it does a movie. Overlong and lacking in rhythm, this rap biopic is an utter disappointment. The film of course centers around Tupac Shakur (Shipp Jr.) and the story chronicles around his time living in the poor streets of an unstable urban environment, his rise to superstardom, his tumultuous time in prison, his controversial tenure at Death Row Records and his untimely passing.

Tupac was the son of Afeni Shakur (Danai Gurira), a political activist and was a member of the Black Panthers. She and Tupac's various step-father figures got harassed daily by law enforcement, she later became a drug addict and Tupac was forced to become the man of the family by caring for his mother and sister, Mopreme (Jermel Howard) himself. Tupac gave up his dream in becoming an actor so that he can pursue his rapping career. Tupac made a name for himself as he became an artist for the rap group Digital Underground and he managed to land a few acting gigs as well. Tupac seemed like he was on top of the world but with every famous rapper, he always ran into some hot water with the police. Tupac got involved in multiple incidents some of them gun-related but it didn't do anything to damage his reputation or his career. However in November of 1995, Tupac and several others were charged with sexual assault by an unnamed woman who claimed that Tupac and his entourage raped her. Tupac denied the accusations but he was convicted of first-degree sexual abuse however he was found not guilty on the weapons and sodomy charges.

After serving nine months in prison, Tupac struck a deal with Death Row Records producer Suge Knight (Dominic L. Santana) who helped him pay his bail of 1.4 million and the hardcore rap company released three albums under his label. Tupac's tenure at Death Row Records was a controversial one but he got his career back on track until his tragic shooting death. On September 7 1996, Shakur was involving in a drive-by shooting and he got shot four times. Six days later, Tupac died from his injuries and his murder remains unsolved to this day.

Sure, his lyrics might've been raw but Tupac Shakur was a powerful voice to the black community. Shakur was also a childhood friend of Jada Pinkett Smith who has since the movie's release criticized the accuracies of the film's relationship between her character and Tupac on Twitter. She claimed that she never attended one of Tupac's concert shows and had a backstage argument with her and she also stated that Tupac never read a poem to her and she didn't know about it's existence until it was published in his book. Despite her critique of the movie, Jada did praise the performances of both Demetrius Shipp Jr. and Kat Graham who plays her.

Tupac's songs might've scored a revolutionary impact on the hip-hop world but "All Eyez on Me" (which has the same title under Tupac's 1996 fourth studio album) fails to generate any nostalgic value or sympathy towards it's characters. Director Benny Boom (Next Day Air) and screenwriters Jeremy Haft, Eddie Gonzalez and Steven Bagatourian bring out the most cliched areas of this genre and the supporting players aren't given much to do. The supporting cast includes Lauren Cohan of "Walking Dead" fame as Tupac's mentor, Annie Ilonzeh as Kidada Jones who became Tupac Shakur's fiancé at the time of his death, Jamal Woolard as The Notorious B.I.G., another famous late rapper who became a friend of Tupac's until he turned on him over a diss song, Jarrett Ellis as Snoop Dogg and Hill Harper as a journalist who interviews Tupac during his time in prison.

"All Eyez on Me" means well but it's a highly flawed and egregious biopic that doesn't do any justice to Tupac Shakur's phenom status and massive following.