Notorious: Notorious B.I.G. Film is a Great Idea, Bad Movie
• Jamal Wollard: Plays Christopher "Biggie" Wallace, and is probably one of two of the best cast members in the entire movie. Although Jamal is not as dark as the real Biggie was, he still delivered the voice and the charismatic charm that the late Christopher Wallace possessed. Jamal Wollard played a believable Biggie while depicting his early years. But as his stardom took off it was short of hard because Jamal does not pull off Coogi and a pin stripped suit the way Biggie did. Let's just say Jamal Wollard should never wear those two outfits again. Overall in his theatrical debut, Jamal Wollard gives an A effort but actually scores a C on his performance.
• Angela Bassett: One of Hollywood's A-list actresses for years, I was more than happy to see Angela Bassett finally gracing the big screen after three years off. But her performance has me thinking that maybe a legend has surpassed her time. Judging by her previous work, Jackson 5:An American Dream & What's Love Got to do with It, I thought Angela Bassett would deliver another convincing performance, I thought wrong. The major flaw in her performance, THERE WAS NO ACCENT! To my recollection Voletta Wallace is of Jamaican decent and in interviews she speaks with an accent. Angela Bassett does not and it is that flaw alone that takes away from her entire performance. The fact that she acted like an angry mother opposed to a strong, struggling, single Jamaican mother just adds insult to injury. But she does have one thing going for her, she is still beautiful. She gets a C grade for performance as i didnt know if she was the character in Meet the Browns or the character she played in Boyz In Da Hood.
• Derek Luke: Derek Luke plays Sean "Puffy" Combs and is the second best cast member in the entire movie. Playing the young, smart and ambitious Sean Combs, Derek Luke play a convincing role. From the outdated hair to the signature dancing that the real "Puffy" did on stage, this character was the most authentic. Derek Luke continues to add another good performance to his catelog of movies, although his performance in Notorious does not compare to Antione Fisher. Derek Luke recieves a B grade for his performance as Sean "Puffy" Combs.
• Anthony Mackie: In Spike Lee's She Hate Me, Anthony Mackie did an outstanding job depicting a man who had lost it all. His character was full of vulnerability, struggle and relentlessness. These are the same characteristics that the late, Tupac Shakur possessed and were the same characteristics absent from Anthony Mackie's role as Tupac. He didn't look like Tupac, didn't talk like him but most of all he did not display the likeability that made Tupac who his was. Anthony Mackie tried way too hard to be Tupac and it is evident that he did not study the man he dreadfully tried to portray. Anthony Mackie's performance reminded me of Merlin Santana's role as "Tupac" in the made-for-television movie Play'd. Watching Anthony Mackie in Notorious made me think about Orlando Jones in Drumline & Double Take, which poses the same question. How do they, Orlando Jones and Anthony Mackie still get roles. Anthony Mackie recieves a D for this performance.
• Naturi Naughton: Naturi tried her little heart out to capture the fierceness and sexuality of Lil Kim but just like her co-cast members, she failed miserably. Reposts have told that the real Lil Kim, Kimberly Denise Jones, was not pleased with the way she was depicted in the movie and I can see why. Since her days with the fallen group 3LW I long thought Naturi...fell into something else that didn't require any talent, not that she had any in the movie Notorious. What else can be said about this sad performance except the casting should have been better. Naturi lacked the same thing every other actor in this movie did; lack the key qualities that made the real life people giants in their own right. Naturi recieves a D for her performance as the hardcore K.I.M.
None of the other cast members are worth writing about. The movie itself, shot in various locations in Brooklyn, was poorly casted, half-acted and did the late Christopher Wallace and Tupac Shakur a great injustice. The only compliment I can give Notorious is the cinematography was great, so I guess the credit goes to the director and editors. Overall, Notorious gets a 1 star out of 5. I highly suggest a pass. It sucks, I really did have high hopes for this movie but I should have trusted my gut with the trailer, even that sucked.
Published by Shaun M Mathis
I am 26 from Connecticut that enjoys thinking and writing about articles "outside the box" I am a bit argumenative but I also shed new light to previous & existing topics/situations that are going on all ar... View profile
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11 Comments
Post a CommentWhy the hell didn't they use a voice over when it came time to rap !? One of the greatest rappers ever and that fat mutant playing biggie does the vocals ! What a joke . Listen to the way he performs. Then listen to the real thing. That movie was a disgrace
This movie is WHACK!!!
Dwayne, please read that article in "Vibe" magazine. Diddy agreed to sign over rights to the movie for someone to portray him ONLY if he could executive produce the movie, but when he actually walked on set, he couldn't go through with it. The childhood friends talked about how Biggie was as a father, a performer, a player, etc. Luke said he couldn't even get Diddy on the phone. I wouldn't put money on it though. I reviewed it for my employer, but I get reimbursed. It was cool, but it wasn't anything unique about it: drug dealer turned rapper. I could point those out all day.
Sorry, I forgot a word. He looked like he stepped off the set of "I Ain't Mad at You" video. But I wonder if they didn't make Mackie wear that stuff because in that particular video, maybe Pac didn't have that on at the time. Did he always have a nose ring? I can't remember. For some reason, I don't remember him having one in "Brenda's Got a Baby," but I could be wrong. I wasn't a Pac or Biggie fan. (Folks get so mad when I say that.) They were cool, but I wasn't losing my mind over either of them. Truth be told, I was at an Immature concert when I found out about Pac's death, and I was too busy fiending over Romeo.
...just uncomfortable there. I have no idea why Voletta Wallace didn't stop Bassett. I think she was too much of a fan to do so. Good point about Pac though. I'm not going to tell you that the guy on the train surely had the whole get-up on. I swear to you he looked like he stepped off the set of "I Ain't Mad at Cha."
5'11, I just read this comment. (Sorry about the delay. I was reading your stimulus package and came back to see if I saw replies.) I wish I could find that train guy. I couldn't even pick my jaw up, straight cotton mouth, and dude just kept looking at me like he KNEW what I wanted to say. If I could find him again, I'd definitely ask him "Why in the world weren't you at the audition?" Oh, as for the people who were on the set, check out the article in the latest Vibe magazine with Kanye West on the cover. Voletta Wallace was there. Junior Mafia (minus Lil' Kim) was there. A bunch of his childhood friends were there. Diddy originally was going to be in it and he gave his number to Derek Luke, but when he got to the set, he said it was too weird for him, got upset, and left. I think he still is kinda mourning Biggie, judging from the article. Some YouTube videos make it sound like Diddy thought Luke could do him all by himself but the magazines tell a different story--that Diddy was jus
I wouldnt go to the movies, just get it on bootleg if you want to see it for yourself. Now I am all for supporting black films and just film and music in general because I would want someone to pay for my books and my work. But at the same time if its bad then it just is bad and I cant help it.
Is it worth $7 for a bookleg copy? My neighbor says he can get the DVD for me, but I was actually planning on taking my wife to see it this week. Now I don't know, because everybody keeps saying it was bad. I just don't understand how it could be so terrible based on the fact Diddy was the executive producer and Cheo Hodari Coker was a co-writer. But thanks for the heads up. I'm about to call me neighbor right now.
Yes, Angela Basset pissed me the hell off and all I saw when she played in the movie was Stella as well. and Anthony Mackie horribly playing Pac was freakin ignorant. They could have gotten another unknown talent that looked like Pac (by the way, why didnt he wear a headband or nose ring like Pac did in the early days) and could have played Pac? Let me find our you're stalking bald guys on the train. Oooh 5'3. So why wasnt Puffy on the damn set, its his movie. Now I see why the movie lacked a lot of essential details. So puffy wasnt on set, Lil Kim wasnt on set, none of the Lox were on set so who the hell was there? I heard Biggies mother was on set but if so how did Angela Basset get away with making the movie without that accent? I think they thought they could load the cast up with A-list start (Luke, Basset and Mackie) and the movie would carry itsself, wrong. The best part about the film is the music. We Agree!! Again, we are on a roll.
...character, Luke's persona is too big. He didn't pull of the sidekick well. He looked more like the main attraction. All interviews say Diddy said it felt too weird to be on set so he didn't coach Luke. I wish he would've though. I gave the movie a 7 out of 10, so I guess we're agreeing on it.