Since this is a movie based on real life, there is a lot of contention on how accurate it is in it's adaptation of rap legend Tupac Shakur's story. Whether it got the facts correct or not is one thing, but the other question is on if this movie is entertaining to watch or not. It is enjoyable to watch in many regards, but there are times when I wished they could have edited out certain scenes. Some scenes have a tendency to be too brief, while others tended to be longer than it should have been.
Like with most biopics that try to cram years worth of history into a tolerable running time for a movie, this one had issues properly balancing out the things it actually needed to show us. I would say that the first half of the movie was able to pace things out a little better, and allowed the story to just grow in a reasonable way. The second half of the movie however seemed to just be content in giving us highlights after highlights without much in terms of a normal plot progression. The narrative of the movie just felt off several times, although it has the benefit of still being about a very fascinating true story and person.
Demetrius Shipp Jr is pretty amazing playing the role of Tupac, and there is a certain confidence to his performance that really carries the movie through and through. Even if the script can sometimes fail him, Demetrius seems to be able to rise above the flaws and is able to keep our attention. If anybody else was going to upstage him, it's Danai Gurira as Tupac's Mom Afeni Shakur. What an electrifying work by Danai that absolutely steals the movie whenever she is on screen.
Since this isn't exactly a documentary on Tupac, I can understand why the direction took certain liberties for cinematic reasons. Either way, Demetrius Shipp Jr, Danai Gurira, and the legend that is Tupac, should be enough reason to check this movie out.
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