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All Eyez on Me Reviews
The Predator:
25% on RT so far.
--- Quote --- All Eyez on Me
Nick Allen
June 16, 2017
"All Eyez on Me" is one of the most useless music biopics ever made—it'll be too confusing for newcomers and too underwhelming for those familiar with the work and the life of rap prophet Tupac Shakur. Directed by Benny Boom with minuscule passion and a ruthless 140-minute running time, "All Eyez on Me" is a production that coasts on the bare minimum of biopic requirements, boasting a lead who looks very much like Tupac but nothing that can't be learned from a Wikipedia page, or better yet, the 2003 documentary "Tupac: Resurrection." As it merely seeks to canonize a complex figure who was far more interesting than perfection, "All Eyez on Me" dehumanizes an important man.
There are so many fascinating parts to Tupac's 25 years on Earth: his upbringing in a family of Black Panthers and mostly women; his young interest in acting and Shakespeare; his ascent in the pop charts as a no-holds-barred storyteller; and, of course, the debate about the merit of his obscene lyrics, especially in regards to treatment of women and animosity towards the police. Boom's film overzealously hits all of these (unless it's something that makes Tupac look bad) and compiles them like a greatest hits collection that only features the simple choruses and never the contemplative verses. Moments are flattened, diced and spoken through cliches, like when Tupac defends his teen pregnancy song "Brenda's Got a Baby" to a couple of white record executives, or when he later realizes that because the world is watching him closely, he should name his album ... well, you get it. As the editing leaps from one Important Moment to the next, the timeline becomes confusing and bold-faced, underlined emotions never resonate.
There is no air in this movie—the kind of air that turns faces on the big screen into our thoughtful surrogates, regardless as to whether the character is fictional or not. Demetrius Shipp Jr.'s invested performance of Tupac is reduced to an impersonation, and an essential part of the rapper is underestimated: his mind. This version of Tupac is always doing, in service of presenting all that he did but not so much what was going on on the inside. Aside from hammy moments in which he surveys a concert crowd with a bright spotlight on him, he's rarely shown simply thinking, considering. Even when the narrative framing device of an interview in prison creates exposition out of Tupac debating himself with his interviewee, it's pithy and cheap.
"All Eyez on Me"'s most accomplished factor might be its third act, in which Tupac joins Death Row Records and signs a deal with the devilish Suge Knight (Dominic L. Santana). It functions like a tacky gangster movie of heavy glares and heated confrontations, all while leaning heavily on the "Julius Caesar"-esque elements of Tupac's last months. But Boom's lifeless direction still taunts, like when we have to watch Shipp lip-sync to Tupac songs for ten minutes or so during a concert, or watch numerous macho confrontations play out with the camerawork of soap operas.
Although the movie is wholly allergic to nuance, there is some shred of an emotional arc that arises with the relationship Tupac has with his mother, Afeni Shakur (Danai Gurira). She appears throughout the movie as a force that challenges Tupac in one way or the other. Gurira too has to work with rotten dialogue and cliche situations, but it's the one glimmer that feels like an expression instead of a duplication.
For everyone else, including Tupac, Boom's biopic is more concerned with information than humanity, and eventually Boom's shallow dedication to showing us recognizable moments or outfits becomes plainly goofy. I especially loved the man who played Snoop Dogg and then lip-synced his dialogue with that of the real Snoop's voice (or it sounded very much like it). The soundtrack soon enough elicits more giggles than head bobs, with the movie cramming in as many songs as possible, despite having no problem skipping around a short career timeline from album to album, underestimating the creation of such pivotal songs in the process.
Boom's counterproductive answer to the flawed aspects of Tupac is to deny that very complexity and to make him a type of savior, which often makes "All Eyez on Me" only plainly terrible. However, that defiance of ambiguity becomes mortifying and offensive when Boom contextualizes a controversial sexual assault case—the before, during, and after—within a biopic's fact, in which the survivor is shown intimately dancing with Tupac to R. Kelly's "Bump & Grind" nights before, and Tupac is presented as sleeping in a different room when she was gang-raped by men he claimed to barely know. Boom even has the audacity to speak for the woman after Tupac was sentenced, when he cuts to her celebrating with her lawyer and then smirking at Tupac. Juxtaposed with the movie's walking butt close-up establishing shots and the way that women are plainly either mother figures or sexual objects, it's enough to make you throw up.
For whatever Boom and his collaborators may know about Tupac, especially as they present "the untold story" (to reference marketing), it's clear with their narrative agenda and values that they're looking far past what makes Tupac so important. This is a man whose life deserves scrutiny, to explore the many issues that he faced as a young black male artist making record history with a bold definition of Thug Life and a fiery ego that clashed with his self-proclaimed sensitivity. Even more, the story of Tupac is one that deserves true artistry. A Tupac film needs to match the vigor you feel in his freight-train rapping, which did more than just tell you what to think. It allowed you to see his world for yourself.
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--- Quote ---All Eyez on Me
Review by Edward Douglas
Movie Review / 15 Jun 2017
All Eyez on Me Review
This Tupac Shakur biopic may be appreciated more by his fans than by newbies.
By Edward Douglas The legacy of Tupac (or 2Pac) Shakur has been kept alive for more than twenty years since his death, and the long-awaited biopic All Eyez on Me tries hard to separate the controversy from the contradictions in a movie that gets better over its lengthy runtime.
Prestigious filmmakers like Antoine Fuqua and John Singleton had originally hoped to make the movie, before it got bogged down in years of legal disputes, so the fact this movie even exists is quite remarkable. The producers finally ended up hiring Benny Boom, a director better known for his music videos--most notably for Nicki Minaj, 50 Cent and Akon--than his movies, and he does a decent job trying to encapsulate the life of a complicated artist.
The main reason his movie gets off to such a rough start is the decision to use the lame framing device of Shakur (played by Demetrius Shipp, Jr.) being interviewed during his 1995 prison sentence, and reflecting back on his life and career up until that point. This immediately gives the film's first half a far-too overused biopic narrative that rambles through Shakur's early life like a Wikipedia entry.
At times, the early part of the film feels more like a TV movie, not being particularly subtle about depicting the white people around Shakur as either clueless (such as his Interscope Records liaisons) or downright evil (just about every police officer shown in the movie).
Once the story catches up to Shakur in prison and the last two years of his life, things start to get far more interesting, particularly with his controversial involvement with Death Row Records head Suge Knight, as played by Dominic Santana. This is also when it starts to veer away from depicting Shakur as a baby-faced angel, never to blame for his troubles or the violence that follows him everywhere.
Granted, Benny Boom has a hard act to follow in the 2015 NWA movie Straight Outta Compton and even the 2009 Biggie Smalls movie Notorious. Comparisons will invariably be made to both, having so many characters in common, but it isn't really fair, since All Eyez on Me is as different a movie as Tupac was as an artist from NWA. This is a film about a creative individual trying to deal with constant adversity, rather than a group of rappers who would inevitably butt heads.
Newcomer Demetrius Shipp, Jr. has the unenviable task of representing Shakur—a role played by Anthony Mackie in Notorious. Shipp not only looks eerily like the late rapper when recreating music videos or his acting roles, but he's also able to perfectly mimic his mannerisms and way of delivering a phrase. This makes his performance feel like more than just an impression and makes you feel as if you're watching his real life with its ups and downs.
The rest of the cast isn't quite as strong with Danai Gurira (The Walking Dead, Black Panther) as Tupac's mother Afeni giving an overwrought performance that pales in comparison to Naomie Harris's similar role in Moonlight. Her character also disappears for a good chunk of the movie, negating the myth about Tupac's closeness with his mother. In some ways, it's more entertaining to watch Shakur interact with childhood friend Jada Pinkett (Kat Graham) over a few key points in their respective careers.
At times, the movie does presume the viewer knows at least a little about Shakur's life and career, or at least his dealings with Knight and the famed East Coast/West Coast feud with P. Diddy's Bad Boy Records. That may also be necessary to fully understand what's happening in the film's second half. If nothing else, the movie should allow you to fully appreciate the dichotomies within Shakur and his music.
The Verdict
You may need to already have at least a tangential interest in Tupac Shakur in order to appreciate All Eyez on Me, because it starts off in such a traditional way and rather meekly. For non-fans, it might be tough to get through the movie's first hour and to the "good stuff" contained in the second half. On the other hand, Demetrius Shipp Jr. gives it his all with an impressive performance that's far more than just an impression. It's doubtful Shakur's fans will feel like they wasted their time by watching this movie.
Good
The Tupac Shakur biopic All Eyez on Me may be appreciated more by his fans than by newbies.
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Blood$:
I saw it today, I wasn't blown away by it but overall I did enjoy it 8)
Straight Outta Compton > All Eyez On Me > Notorious
Jay Wallace:
I liked it more than Notorious but that's not saying much. It lacked a cohesive vision and a coherent story. It felt like there were way too many people involved in making it. I was really disappointed by it.
The Predator:
--- Quote ---Critics Consensus: Despite Demetrius Shipp Jr.'s fine lead performance, All Eyez on Me is mostly a surface-skimming, by-the-numbers biopic of a larger-than-life icon.
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--- Quote ---'All Eyez On Me' Leaves Out Some Major 2Pac Stories
The Manhattan screening of All Eyez On Me, one week before the film's debut, has an eerie tinge. This viewing for media and tastemakers is taking place at Magno Screening Room, a facility located just three doors down from Quad Recording Studios, where Tupac Shakur famously survived five bullet wounds in 1994. It's a geotag that adds some realism to a mostly true-to-life biopic that features a convincing performance of the fabled rapper via newcomer actor Demetrius Shipp Jr., and an outstanding portrayal of Afeni Shakur by Danai Gurira (best known for playing Michonne on The Walking Dead).
All Eyez On Me is a thorough look at the life of hip-hop's most iconic figure. The Benny Boom-directed movie packs 25 years of pain, triumph, poetry, thug life, controversy, and cultural domination into two hours and 20 minutes of cinema. It's ambitious in scope, but still, several of the moments that added to 'Pac's legend (i.e. spitting at news reporters) are curiously left out. With All Eyez On Me in theaters today, Complex sifted through the film to find the most glaring exclusions.
Filming Poetic Justice
While Juice, Above the Rim and Gridlock'd are all accounted for in All Eyez On Me, Tupac's principled loverboy role in 1993's Poetic Justice—and all of its off-camera drama—is conspicuously absent. As reports tell it, co-star Janet Jackson asked that the actor/rapper take an HIV test before they filmed a kissing scene, a request that Pac vehemently denied. (Director John Singleton told Vibe in 2011 that it was a contrived publicity stunt.) Elsewhere on set, an extra reportedly trolled the movie star by calling him "Four Pac"; afterward, Maya Angelou lectured Tupac to tears.
The Storied Clash With the Hughes Brothers
Tupac was originally cast to appear in the 1993 classic Menace II Society, but was fired for causing problems on set. The dismissal reportedly led to a fight between Tupac and directors Allen and Albert Hughes. Tupac proudly confessed to the altercation on a 1994 episode of Yo! MTV Raps. "They fired me, but did it in a roundabout punk snitch way," Pac said, heated. "So I caught them on the streets and beat they behind." The music video show's footage was later subpoenaed and used to sentence Pac to 15 days in jail for the assault—although the twin directors remember it differently. "It was me and 12 Crips that he got to jump me," Allen Hughes told Vibe in 2009. "He didn't do shit." Either way, the incident is left out of All Eyez On Me.
His Time Dating the Queen Of Pop
Now the stuff of hip-hop mythology, Tupac Shakur and Madonna were once romantically involved, a point that is overlooked in the biopic. The megastar singer/actress opened up about their relationship during a 2015 interview with Howard Stern. "One time, I was mad at [Letterman] when I said the f-word a lot—I was in a weird mood that day," Madonna said. "I was dating Tupac Shakur at the time and the thing is he got me all riled up on life in general." Pac's friend and actress Rosie Perez later admitted to hooking the two celebrities up at the 1993 Soul Train Music Awards.
The Uncanny Rhyme He Recorded Before Being Shot at Quad Studios
Prior to the infamous Quad Studios shooting, Tupac laid one of his most clairvoyant 16s—and it's completely omitted from All Eyez On Me. The cash-strapped MC dropped a free verse for DJ Ron G in Harlem hours before he was shot, but the session was cinematic in its own right. Ron remembers that Pac seemed stressed as he was fielding phone calls about his whereabouts. When Pac finally laid his rhyme, which would later grace the posthumous Big L collaboration "Deadly Combination," his verse suggested paranoia: "I think niggas is tryin' to kill me/Picturin' pistols, spittin' hollow points 'til they drill me." It'd be the perfect prelude to a pivotal scene that changed everything, but the session didn't make it into the script.
His Marriage to Keisha Morris
The man who made "I Get Around" tried to settle down while he was locked up. In 1995, Pac married his girlfriend Keisha Morris at New York's Clinton Correctional Facility; Morris told The Source in 2000 that it was a loving, but partially strategic move intended to better allow her to handle the rapper's business matters. While the union was brief—they divorced the following year—it was eventful (their hotel room once caught fire). But it's not surprising that the marriage is altogether overlooked in All Eyez On Me, as Morris has rarely done press after being unhappy with her depiction in the 2003 documentary Tupac: Resurrection.
The Full Scope of the East Coast/West Coast Beef
While Biggie and ‘Pac—and to a broader extent Death Row and Bad Boy Records—are clearly pitted against each other, the film doesn't depict the totality of the media-fueled East Coast-West Coast rivalry. You don't see Tupac trading shots with Mobb Deep or Jay Z ("Chino XL, fuck you too!"), or eventually squashing his beef with Nas in Central Park after the 1996 MTV VMAs. And there's no reproduction of the "Hit Em Up" music video (casting a phony version of Gravy, who is already a phony version of Big, to mock Big, would be way too meta). It's all likely an artistic choice out of respect for the beef's tragic outcome or as not to overshadow the significance of Tupac's life, but the direction reeks of Hollywood shellac.
His Rigorous Studio Work Ethic
All Eyez On Me pictures Pac's perfectionism in a scene in which he obsesses over the mixing of his debut solo single, "Brenda's Got a Baby." But the prolific recording process that provided enough material for seven posthumous albums goes unexplored. It would've been interesting to witness a recreation of Tupac's diligence in the studio—the work ethic of a man who knew his days were numbered.
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--- Quote ---50 Cent Calls 2Pac Biopic 'All Eyez on Me' Trash: 'Catch That Sh*t on a Fire Stick'
Earlier today, Jada Pinkett-Smith hopped on Twitter to share her disappointment in the portrayal of her friendship with 2Pac in All Eyez on Me, the new biopic on 'Pac's life that hit theaters today. "My relationship to Pac is too precious to me for the scenes in All Eyez On Me to stand as truth," she tweeted, calling "the reimagining" of her relationship to 'Pac "deeply hurtful." She wasn't the only celebrity to voice her displeasure as 50 Cent took to his Instagram account to critique the movie as well.
"Man I watched the 2Pac film," he posted, "that was some bullshit. Catch that shit on a fire stick," 50 said, referring to Amazon's Fire Stick device that's been used by many to illegally stream movies to their TVs.
In a second post on Instagram, Fif elaborated on why he was feeling some type of way about All Eyez on Me. "I'm a big 2Pac fan," he began. "I just don't think his story was done well; he deserved better.
"The shit felt like I was watching a Lifetime TV movie in a theater," 50 continued. "I wanted to change the channel. The New Edition story was better then that shit."
At the time of this writing, All Eyez on Me has a 27 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 42 on Metacritic. Despite those scores, experts are pegging All Eyez on Me to end up in the No. 2 spot in this weekend's box office behind Cars 3, which also hits theaters today, and right ahead of Wonder Woman, which rode the No. 1 spot for the last two weeks.
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--- Quote ---Jada Pinkett Smith Says 'All Eyez On Me' Is "Deeply Hurtful"
Friday marks what would have been 2Pac's 46th birthday. The release of All Eyez on Me, the long-awaited Tupac Shakur biopic, coincides with this celebratory day for fans and is garnering mixed reviews.
Bring in #TupacDay by hitting the theaters for #AllEyezOnMe! In theaters now! https://t.co/8MV1v8i4ao https://t.co/8lfqner9Jo
— All Eyez On Me (@alleyezmovie) June 16, 2017
Known 2Pac friend Jada Pinkett Smith, portrayed in the film by Kat Graham, criticized the film's handling of their relationship in a series of tweets Friday. According to Smith, the film's "reimagining" contains multiple "hurtful" inaccuracies.
"Forgive me... my relationship to Pac is too precious to me for the scenes in All Eyez On Me to stand as truth," Smith said in a series of tweets Friday. "Pac never read me that poem. I didn't know that poem existed until it was printed in his book. Pac never said goodbye to me before leaving for LA. He had to leave abruptly and it wasn't to pursue his career. I've never been to any of Pac's shows by his request. We never had an argument backstage. The reimagining of my relationship to Pac has been deeply hurtful."
Smith also mentioned Graham and star Demetrius Shipp Jr., thanking them for their performances. "This is no fault of yours," she said. "Thank you for bringing so much heart and spirit to your roles. You both did a beautiful job with what you were given." Smith closed out her tweetstorm with a happy birthday message for 2Pac. Read the tweets in full below.
Forgive me... my relationship to Pac is too precious to me for the scenes in All Eyez On Me to stand as truth.
— Jada Pinkett Smith (@jadapsmith) June 16, 2017
Pac never read me that poem. I didn't know that poem existed until it was printed in his book.
— Jada Pinkett Smith (@jadapsmith) June 16, 2017
Pac never said goodbye to me before leaving for LA. He had to leave abruptly and it wasn't to pursue his career.
— Jada Pinkett Smith (@jadapsmith) June 16, 2017
I've never been to any of Pac's shows by his request. We never had an argument backstage.
— Jada Pinkett Smith (@jadapsmith) June 16, 2017
The reimagining of my relationship to Pac has been deeply hurtful.
— Jada Pinkett Smith (@jadapsmith) June 16, 2017
To @KatGraham and @Dshippjr this is no fault of yours. Thank you for bringing so much heart and spirit to your roles.
— Jada Pinkett Smith (@jadapsmith) June 16, 2017
You both did a beautiful job with what you were given. Thank you both.
— Jada Pinkett Smith (@jadapsmith) June 16, 2017
Happy birthday Pac, you are cradled in my heart for eternity.
I love you.
— Jada Pinkett Smith (@jadapsmith) June 16, 2017
In an interview with Vanity Fair Tuesday, Graham addressed previous criticism from John Singleton. The director was originally set to helm the 2Pac biopic, but exited the project due to alleged "major creative differences" in 2015. In an interview in 2016, Singleton said he knew the film had been "fucked up" and would thus receive no attention from him.
"John's a personal friend of mine, but I haven't talked to him about it," Graham said this week. "I don't know that he's seen it yet. I know he hadn't seen it at the time he made those comments. It's so fucking hard to make a black biopic. It is fucking hard to get the money, and if it's based on a musician, to get the clearance together. It's so hard to make a movie period, let alone one that features as much diversity as this film."
All Eyez on Me is in theaters now.
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smp4life:
Saw it yesterday. Shit was boring.
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