★★½
(M) 140 minutes
Recently there's been a vogue for biopics that reinvent the format, homing in on a specific period in the life of a famous person or showing them from an oblique point of view, as in Pablo Larrain's Jackie or Don Cheadle's Miles Ahead.
Benny Boom's All Eyez On Me is having none of this trend. This lengthy account of the short life of revered rapper and actor Tupac Shakur (played by Demetrius Shipp Jr) gives its subject the full Great Man treatment, from his 1970s childhood through to his still unsolved murder in 1995.
Certainly, there's no shortage of dramatic material. The script by several hands paints Shakur as a divided personality, with both sides manifest in his music: the socially conscious artist determined to bring the news from the streets; and the hothead given to beefs with other rappers and male chauvinist boasts.
As with the 2015 NWA biopic Straight Outta Compton – a hit that may have helped get this film the green light – controversy seems bound to ensue about how much has been glossed over. An awkward framing device has Shakur telling his story to an interviewer while in prison, but less emphasis is given to the fact that he was doing time for sexual assault.
On the other hand, considerable room is made for the key women in Shakur's life, starting with his mother Afeni (Danai Gurira), a Black Panther whose radicalism is portrayed as a crucial influence on her son. Near the heart of the film is their debate over whether he qualifies as a leader of the African-American community, and what the responsibilities of such a role might be.
Almost as prominent is Shakur's relationship with future movie star Jada Pinkett (Kat Graham), whom he first met in high school. As depicted here, she's a crucial friend and sounding board, but never even a potential romantic interest, a type of relationship Hollywood rarely portrays with this kind of weight.
As a whole, All Eyez On Me's concerns are more recognisably human than in most modern Hollywood films. But while there are are striking moments throughout, there's also a great deal which is simply corny or laborious, such as most of the material about Shakur's dealings with record labels.
As for Shipp, he's convincingly emotional but not as electric as might be hoped – and never quite believable as the tireless creator who by the time of his death at 25 had recorded more than 700 songs.
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