Last Man Standing

★★★★

Dir: Nick Broomfield DOGWOOOF. C/ST

Sequel to 2002’s Biggie & Tupac sets its sights on Death Row mogul Suge Knight.

A more stringent dig into the tangled web that claimed the lives of two of hiphop’s most mesmeric stars, Last Man Standing dissects the doomed brotherhood between 2Pac and Suge Knight with fearless scrutiny. A grim portrait of the intimidating Knight – a label executive in name alone – it shows how Death Row’s devastating trail of gang violence (“We’d whup your ass with no questions asked,” says an enabler) was compounded by the collusion of a network of bent LAPD officers. Tongues freed by Knight’s waning hold and lengthy incarceration, the insider revelations quickly pile up, offering a highly compelling argument for murders that remain officially unsolved. Tight, concise and mercifully free of the bungles and dead ends that marred its predecessor, it’s gripping viewing and one of Broomfield’s best.