santiagocosme I know a director needs to stick to reality when he does a movie based on real events, but somehow, I can't help but think that he could have done a lot more with the story of a Hip Hop star who got murdered in strange circumstances. Notorious rose to stardom in the blink of an eye, at least for the American audience. His catchy lyrics and great personality made him a superstar in no time. However, a sort of conflict between the East and West Coast emerged, and the resulting tension that arose form the situation ended up with the lives of two of the brightest rap stars of the decade. Now, the disappointing is that everything I just wrote I already knew before watching the movie. What else did I learn? Well Notorious seemed a bit of a nerd when he was young, he slept with loads of women, and smoked pot. I could have guessed 2 out of these 3. I don't think Notorious is a particularly good or bad movie. Just very average, but I have the sneaky feeling you can get a better deal but watching some of the documentaries about his life on Youtube.

Prismark10 Notorious is a cliché ridden, badly scripted, by the numbers and shallow biopic of New York rapper Christopher 'Notorious B.I.G' Wallace.If it was not for the fact that he died in 1997 I could have sworn he was an Executive Producer of this movie given how much this film hypes him up. A school nerd turned big time drug dealer and babe magnet. It did not matter if a girl in the hood showed no interest in his large girth. A few sweet words, a smile and they would be humping his large frame. This happens repeatedly throughout the film.Now I once knew a fat guy who was a babe magnet, he was also a small time drug dealer. Which begs the question did all these women fall at his feet because Notorious was a rapper or drug dealer or a nobody with lots of charm?The movie deals and speaks in clichés throughout. A character mentions not once but twice lines like, 'we are not here to play the game but to take over the game.' Many of the themes dealt here were better in earlier films like Hustle and Flow and Get rich or die trying. They also had better music.Many of the side characters are depicted in a shallow way. Sean Combs was a producer in this film and he just happens to be portrayed as a great guy in this film. Lil Kim goes from a sweet office worker to a sex bomb. Angela Bassett is a hard working, virtuous mother, who raises Notorious single handedly but her Jamaican accent is a bit off. Tupac Shakur pops in and out of this film but his shooting marks a turning point in this film and the east and west coast rivalry in the mid 1990s.The movie never deals in depth as to what was the cause of this rivalry and why Shakur was shot. The film is not interested in the casual viewer but seems to be squarely aimed at fans of Notorious B.I.G and rap enthusiasts.Even at the end of the movie it is shown that Notorious was maturing, learnt the errors of his way but again its just clichés. I was more interested to know why if it was so dangerous for him to go to California, why did he not wear a bulletproof vest and drive around in a bulletproof car with heavy security? He certainly had the money for it, so was he just arrogant or plain dumb? The film never deals with it but in real life someone would had asked those basic questions.

eduderocks182 This movie is amazing. If you're a fan of hip-hop and a fan of biggie then you will love this movie. It got his life story perfectly from when he was a young child drug dealing up to when he became a very successful rapper. It was amazing when he beat that guy in the rap battle and the funeral scene was depressing. Plenty of people say they don't like this movie but it got his life story perfectly and I can't wait until the Tupac movie comes out. Hopefully it will be as good as notorious. They got the east coast/west coast rivalry perfectly in notorious so hopefully they will do that with the tupac movie. Jamal woolard played biggie perfectly and biggies son was very good in the film. Some scenes are sad and some scenes are amazing.

Desertman84 Notorious is a biographical film about the life and murder of The Notorious B.I.G.,played by Jamal Woolard.The cast also includes Angela Bassett,Derek Luke and Anthony Mackie.The script is provided by Cheo Hodari Coker and Reggie Rock Blythewood.George Tillman, Jr. directed the film.The movie is like a piece of well-crafted gem. It looks good, and facets of it shine, but behind the gilded facade there's not much there.The movie leaves us with the sense that, twelve years after Biggie Smalls's death, a lot of people are trying to extract whatever profit or pride they can from the chaotic life of a young man who was, as he well knew, a work in progress.While the script provides ample illustrations of Wallace's tough life, there is not enough focus on what set the recording star apart from his peers or why he became so incredibly popular so quickly.Overall,it is an intermittently entertaining but thoroughly conventional and standard biopic.