Review of All Eyez on Me (2017) by Toki C — 15 Jun 2017

All Eyez On Me did something I didn't think was possible. It took the story of rap legend and culture icon Tupac Shakur and made it boooooooriiiiiing!!! That actually takes talent. MAN this movie dragged. The pace of this movie slowed to an unbearable crawl, and the final sequences felt stretched out in painful ways, taking all of the suspense and dread out of what should've been a powerful, gut-wrenching sequence that left you wishing Tupac was still alive.

I wish that's all the bad I could say about it. The acting in this film was incredibly stilted and the screenplay was rather barebones and uninteresting, giving us scenes we've seen in other films that found their way into what should've been a very unique depiction of a unique life. The real standout here was Danai Gurira who played Tupac's mother Afeni Shakur. She gave raw emotion and convinced us that she was the living, breathing embodiment of Tupac's mom. I also though Kat Graham (Jada Pinkett) and Annie Ilonzeh (Kidada Jones) did pretty well with what they were given, but ultimately didn't have enough to work with to stand out. Almost all the guys in this movie were pretty flat.

I'm not quite sure what this movie was trying to say, but I will give it props for drawing the parallels between Tupac's life and what's going on today - tensions between black communities and police, as well as the violence that takes place within these communities. I got a sense of what Tupac grew up with. I also got a sense of how he changed with his meteoric rise to fame. This movie did its best with its social commentary, but I would've liked to see more of Tupac's philosophies and I don't think we fully got that. This is the kind of person, the kind of mind that deserves a deeper, more creative vision, and with All Eyez On Me, we absolutely didn't get that. If you want to find a movie that shows how Pac changed the game, then keep looking. This movie is not it.

That said, the depicted surface life of Tupac is barely interesting enough to make this movie One-Watch Worthy. It's doing well in theaters, but honestly I'd recommend you wait until it's out for rental. The sluggish pacing and wooden acting don't do enough to make this a must-see in theaters.