Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
All Eyez on Me chronicles the life and legacy of Tupac Shakur, including his rise to superstardom as a hip-hop artist, actor, poet and activist, as well as his imprisonment and prolific, controversial time at Death Row Records. Against insurmountable odds, Tupac rose to become a cultural icon whose career and persona both continue to grow long after his passing.
All Eyez on Me covers Tupac Shakur's life in a broadly competent but frustratingly shallow biopic format. The plot hits the expected biographical checkpoints without deeply exploring the contradictions and complexities that made Tupac such a singular figure, feeling episodic and surface-level. Demetrius Shipp Jr. bears a striking physical resemblance to Tupac but the performance lacks the charisma and depth needed to fully inhabit the icon, while supporting performances are generally unremarkable. Cinematography is workmanlike and functional, never elevating the material visually. The film offers little novelty in its approach, following the standard rise-and-fall biopic template closely, drawing unfavorable comparisons to Straight Outta Compton which covered similar ground more effectively. The ending, dealing with Tupac's imprisonment and rise at Death Row, carries some emotional weight given the subject matter's inherent tragedy, though it remains underdeveloped.