All Eyez On Me

All Eyez On Me

Starring Demetrius Shipp Jr., Danai Gurira, Dominic Santana, Jamal Woolard

Directed by Benny Boom

The Story:
Raised by Black Panther member Afeni Shakur (Danai Gurira), Tupac Shakur (Demetrius Shipp Jr.) was taught at an early age to be a revolutionary, and as he grew up and got involved in the music and movie world, he tried to use his voice as a way to reach out to those in need.  His story is profound, his impact is historic, and his life is prolific.

The Synopsis:
In 2015, the film "Straight Outta Compton" became the little film that could, a biopic released in the heat of summer surrounded by epic blockbuster action films, and turned out to gross over $160 million dollars.  The true-life story of how rap's influential group N.W.A. came to be was filled with amazing acting, a compelling story, and friction you could start a fire with.  Expectations were high for the biopic of Tupac Shakur, easily one of rap music's - and music in general - most iconic and influential voices.  Sadly, the magic couldn't be repeated, and "All Eyez On Me" was drowned out by a lackluster script, shoddy acting and terrible pacing.

The film was originally going to be directed by John Singleton (who directed the real-life Tupac in "Poetic Justice"), but he left the film due to the production company not meeting his vision, which is sad because not only did he know Tupac firsthand, but he was the only one who had Afeni Shakur's blessing to make the film.  Instead, Benny Boom (the director of "Next Day Air") came in and finished the project, and the result is an overview of Tupac's life, a two hour and twenty minute borefest that only scratches the surface of everything Tupac did for the rap community and the lasting impact he made on the world.  It's like Boom checked out Tupac's Wikipedia page and used that for source material, as he somehow manages to include so little in a film so long.

The most public events of Tupac's life - such as his battle with Notorious B.I.G. (side note: he's played here by Jamal Woolard, who also played B.I.G. in the underrated "Notorious"), his dispute with womens' groups, and his shooting - are glossed over in five-to-ten-minute intervals, beginning and ending with a fadeout like someone made in a high school project.  There's no depth to his character, no surprising revelations, nothing to create an ebb and flow, but rather turned into a stagnant story better served for a made-for-TV movie.  This is a huge slap in the face to Tupac's memory, resorting his epic tale to flashes of memory that come and go like a train stopping off at different stops, never reaching its main destination.  For example, after he moves to California, he all of a sudden becomes an actor and rapper without anyone finding out HOW it actually happened. 

It's sad to say, but I was waiting for the final moments of the film to see how they would film his death, and see if I felt any emotional resonance to it like I did with Eazy-E's death in "Comption" (P.S., neither of these are spoilers because they happened in real life decades ago, if you didn't know that then you probably shouldn't be watching this movie anyway).  Instead, I was just relieved the film was finally over, and I felt no emotional ties to Tupac's tragic end.

Newcomer Demetrius Shipp Jr.definitely looks like Tupac, but he failed to emote Tupac's famous swagger, charisma and tenacity.  Most of the time he floats through the scene like a ghost, someone who is terribly swamped by the actors around him.  He doesn't give a lot of emotion to his performance, and it's wooden and uninspired.  His relationship with Jada Pinkett (played by Kat Graham) has been met with scrutiny by the real life Jada Pinkett Smith, who said most of the events that occur in the film never even happened.  Sure, Shipp was given a terrible script, but he could've done more with it than just give a deadpan performance.  Especially during his concerts - obviously dubbed by Tupac's real voice - you can tell he's lip-syncing worse than Ashlee Simpson did on SNL.

The positive part of the film (and I'm being slightly biased here, but I don't care, it's my review) is Danai Gurira's performance as Tupac's mother Afeni.  She plays Tupac's mother as a very strong-willed, independent woman who suffers from her own demons, but even in her weakness she shows incredible strength.  This comes from Gurira's natural talent (she plays Michonne, my favorite character ever, on "The Walking Dead"), as she's a natural B-A who dominates the screen every time she's on it (she'll use her chops again later next year in both "Black Panther" and "Avengers: Infinity War").  If it were not for her stellar acting, the film would've been a total failure.

The Summary:
I really wanted to like this film, I really did.  I never grew up listening to rap and only heard the basics of Tupac's life, which, sadly, were the only aspects this film expressed.  It's an overly long film that's lacking substance and pacing, delivered by a green actor who should've waited a bit longer before tackling this real life tale.

The Score: C