All Eyez On Me - Millennial Review
Despite a good performance from Demetrius Shipp Jr. in the title role, All Eyez On Me unfortunately is a trainwreck of a biopic, failing to capture the complexity of Tupac Shakur, being equal parts heavy-handed and rushed, as well as being a boring slog.
Positives
- Demetrius Shipp Jr. embodies Shakur. Not only does look like 2Pac, but he is able to mirror many of Tupac's mannerisms. I didn't see the actor, I saw 2Pac. Very impressive considering this is his first every major performance.
- There are a couple very well framed shots that looked fantastic
Negatives
- Here we go..... This entire films feels straight-to-DVD. Most of the people who worked on this film feel like they've never worked on a major wide release film before, and it shows because many people involved have not worked on a film of this magnitude.
- Except for Shipp, practically all the acting in this film is AWFUL. It's either very overblown, or lacking any sign of emotion. F.e. Tupac's mother gives crazy eyes for much of this film. On the other hand, every white person in this film is literally a robot, devoid of ANY emotion, which is very frustrating. Even the EXTRAS are looking into the camera when they shouldn't be, causing some very awkward moments throughout the film.
- The production value of this film feels cheap. Many shots are very poorly framed. There was maybe one shot where I thought "Wow this is decent cinematography" and that's it. It does not look like much care was put into this production and feels as though Lionsgate just threw this film at us, and expected us to eat it up, because everyone loves 2Pac right?
The editing and narrative of this film are so INCREDIBLY sloppy. For the first hour and a half of the film, they cut back and forth from an interview Shakur is having in prison, and to his past, causing a very confusing narrative that is very difficult to follow because of this back and forth. Considering how sloppy the film already was, a straight-forward, linear narrative would have benefitted this film considerably. Not to mention the fact that this film is TWO AND A HALF HOURS LONG. Because the narrative had no flow, I was bored out of my mind for much of this film.
- Much of this film inaccurately portrays who the man Tupac Shakur was. I felt as though this film just makes him look like a bad boy for the most part. Shakur is a major influence of mine, because to him he was a poet, an activist, a leader. I got none of that in this film. All I really got was that he likes to fuck, he's pretty good at rapping, and he likes money. Tupac Shakur is one of the biggest influences on American culture of the past 30 years, so how do you screw this up? Don't make a 2Pac movie unless you completely understand who he was and what he stood for.
- Grade: D+
