Author: Emorie Layne
It’s not up for debate that the late Tupac Shakur is one of the most beloved rap icons of all time. After all, the word “rapper”doesn’t even begin to describe him. He was so many things to so many different people. He was a poet. An activist. A revolutionary. A ladies man. The list goes on and on. But above all, he was a voice for those who couldn’t speak up for themselves. So it goes without saying that his biopic was undoubtedly going to be held to a higher standard than others. So now only one question remains: did the film live up to all the expectations and years of anticipation? Or was it nothing more than a flop?
In my opinion, it was somewhere in between.
Let me start off by saying that the cast did an amazing job. It was led by Demetrius Shipp Jr., who was given the honor of portraying Shakur. For this to be his first acting role, playing a world-renowned icon, I think he did amazingly well. He captured a lot of Tupac’s on and offstage charisma, especially in key scenes where it was needed the most.
Danai Gurira, who was cast as Afeni Shakur, was also brilliant and stood out to me on the screen as well. She performed her role with a raw and believable intensity that played off of Shipp’s energy. As a result of the two’s chemistry, the strained but loving relationship between Tupac and his mother was beautifully portrayed.
One relationship that also stood out to me in the film was that of Tupac and Kidada Jones, played by Annie Ilonzeh. Although their engagement was public knowledge to many, it was also a new piece of his life that some of Tupac’s fans didn’t know about. Shipp and Ilonzeh had amazing chemistry, and clearly showed the love that the two had for each other.
Overall, the film has had many mixed reviews with a good amount of both yays and nays. Many who saw the film joked on social media about the use of an iPhone 7 during the film. Jada Pinkett-Smith even stepped in with some criticisms of her own. She said that she was deeply hurt over the “re imagining” of her and Pac’s relationship.
As for my personal take on it, I thought the film was decent. It had a slow start in the beginning and the script could’ve included a few more iconic moments in his career. However, you can’t fit twenty-five whole years of somebody’s life into a two hour movie. The cast was convincing, the story of his rise to fame was well-written, and the soundtrack included a majority of his hit records. Props to the whole crew on a job well done.
