Tupac did deserve better
ALL EYEZ ON ME Direction: Benny Boom Actors: Demetrius Shipp Jr, Danai Gurira
This long-gestating biopic of the hip-hop megastar Tupac Shakur glosses over the more unsavoury aspects of his life to piece together a somewhat sanitised portrait of the 1990s cultural icon.
Haphazardly assembled, the title is drawn from his 1996 album.
The film uses an interview granted to a journalist while he was in prison on trumped-up charges of sexual abuse, to wind back to Tupac’s childhood in New York and his teen years in Baltimore and then California.
Raised a revolutionary by a mother who was an activist in the Black Panther movement, Tupac was shot in a dastardly act seemingly orchestrated by rival Black musicians.
He survived, only to be gunned down again, this time fatally, in 1996.
He was 25. The murder remains unsolved.
All Eyez on Me strives to explore the complexities of racial identity and the fallout of the East Coast-West Coast rap music feud, but the long-winded narrative provides barely any insight into the temperamental artist.
It is only his spirited music — snatches of tunes such as California love complement the soundtrack — and a couple of terrific performances (by newcomer Demetrius Shipp Jr, who bears a startling resemblance to the singer; and Danai Gurira, who plays his unflappable mother) that lend any excitement to the proceedings.
Recommended only for diehard fans of the artiste.