A.R's Review: Notorious Movie

Aside from some minor inconsistencies I think the Notorious movie was well done overall. If I could add anything it would be B.I.G's relationship with Jay Z; especially since 2 Pac was such a prominent part of the film. I also would like to have seen Andre Harrell and Lil' Shawn's role at the infamous studio shooting of 2 Pac. But ultimately the story was well told down to the "B.I.G. Mack" promotion I mentioned in a previous blog posting. 

The best acting rolls go first to the lead. To my surprise Gravy did an excellent job playing Biggie. Also the portrayals of Lil' Kim (played by Naturi Naughton) and Faith Evans (played by Antonique Smith) were both excellent. It's a shame to me that Lil' Kim reportedly does not support the film. I believe Derek Luke could have been more convincing as Diddy while the Lil Case roll was just horrible, but I would put that on the script before the actor. He just seemed too insignificant in the film. I developed a new found respect for D Roc after watching this film. If I learned anything new, it would be the fact that D Roc went to jail to save B.I.G's career. Unfortunately he went to jail again years later over the HOT 97 shooting where Lil' Kim lied about knowing him (not depicted in the film). 

In terms of song placement I thought the Biggie and Jay Z song "I Love The Dough" was ill-placed in this film because "Life After Death" was released after B.I.G. was killed. A more fitting song for that point in the film would have been the two on "Brooklyn's Finest". However I must point out that I am extra critical of the period that I consider "my era" but if the technicalities are not as important to you as it was to me, then you should enjoy this film wholeheartedly. I just hope the over-zealous 2 Pac fans (who are on message boards to date pitting the two against each other) end up diggin' this story for what it is... the truth!