Tupac Shakur’s legacy has been maintained for over two decades since his death, and the highly anticipated biopic All Eyez on Me attempts to disentangle the controversies from the paradoxes in a movie that improves with time. High-profile directors such as Antoine Fuqua and John Singleton were said to have wanted in on the action before it was embroiled in years of litigation; thus making its existence quite incredible. Finally, Benny Boom who is known more as a music video director than a filmmaker (he directed videos for Nicki Minaj, 50 Cent and Akon) was picked by producers, who remarkably did a fair job recreating an artist’s life.
The movie however starts off on a bad note because it uses a stupid device of Shakur (played by Demetrius Shipp, Jr.) being interviewed while serving his 1995 prison term and looking back at his life up to that stage. This gives the first half of the film an all-too typical biopic formula that goes through Shakur’s early years like an article on Wikipedia.
Sometimes, the first part of the movie seems more like a made-for-TV film; it is obvious and does not hesitate to show that all white people around Shakur are either ignorant (e.g. Interscope Records contacts) or outright wicked (almost all police officers appearing in the picture).
However, things take a turn for the better once the story reaches Shakur in jail and his last two years with Viola Davis as his mother, Afeni Shakur, a role she was born to play. This is also where it starts moving away from portraying him as an innocent young heavenly creature who has no responsibility for his problems or violence that follows him wherever he goes.
Benny Boom has a difficult task on his hands following up 2015’s NWA movie Straight Outta Compton and even the 2009 Biggie Smalls movie Notorious. Though people will always compare the two movies with so many characters in common, it would be unfair because All Eyez on Me is as much of a different film from NWA as Tupac Shakur was an artist than other rappers who were bound to clash at some point over something. It is about one man trying to overcome adversity through creative means not a group of MCs that are most certain will have conflicts amongst themselves.
In Notorious, Anthony Mackie play’s Shakur but now newcomer Demetrius Shipp, Jr., takes on the role. Even when Shipp impersonates him in music videos or talking like him in his movies it’s too amazing how he looks exactly like this dead rapper and can reproduce all his funny behaviors and phrase patterns too well. In this manner, it becomes more than just mimicking that he does and makes you think you are seeing his life with its ups and downs unfold before your eyes.
But other members of the cast are not as good like Danai Gurira (The Walking Dead, Black Panther) who does an exaggerated performance of the role of Tupac’s mother Afeni in comparison to Naomie Harris’s role in Moonlight. At some point too, her character is lost for a large part of the film and this belies the idea that it was only because he was so close to his mother. Some parts are amusing when Shakur interacts with Jada Pinkett (Kat Graham), his friend from childhood on few important issues concerning their professional life.
For example, there are times in the movie when it assumes that you have an idea about Shakur’s life or career or at least when he had any deals with Knight and Bad Boy Records East Coast/West Coast feuds featuring P. Diddy. That may be needed to fully understand what takes place during the second half. Otherwise, you would be able to appreciate his dichotomies and music more fully.
THE VERDICT
For one to appreciate All Eyez on Me, it may help if they already have a peripheral interest in Tupac Shakur since the movie starts in such a conventional way and timidly too. It will not be easy for the non-fans to get through the first hour of the film to the “good stuff” that lies there in second half too. However, Demetrius Shipp Jr.’s all-out and an impressive performance goes beyond mere impersonation. Shakur’s faithful followers will hardly say that time spent watching this movie is wasted.
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