Blu-ray Review: 'Notorious'

No-No-Notorious! To say that Christopher Wallace was just a Brooklyn rapper would be an understatement of grand proportions.  The late musician, known to most as the Notorious B.I.G., became one of the most iconic and influential artists in the history of music in his short life. Twelve years after his murder we have Notorious, the impressive biopic of the rapper’s rise to fame, internal conflicts and ultimate demise.

Notorious acknowledges up front that its viewers know how this story ends. It starts with the end of Wallace’s life, which happened after that industry party in Los Angeles. But the meat of the story is back in his native Brooklyn, where the chubby kid from Clinton Hill and Bed-Stuy learned how to sell drugs and bust rhymes.

The film aims to provide more color on a life that was tragically cut short, making one wonder how much more of an impact Wallace would have made on the music industry. Even more, a suitable focus is on the great relationship he had with his mother Voletta (Angela Bassett) and the heartbreak she experienced as he veered precipitously away from the dream she had for him.

The standout here is clearly newcomer Woolard, who embodies Biggie Smalls, in stature, vocal delivery and charisma. Every so often, you watch a movie where it seems as if an actor is born to play that role and it’s evident that this is the case with Woolard. He held his own really well against the seasoned Bassett, who does a wonderful job. The film also featured Derek Luke, who provides on over-the-top performance as Sean Combs. It’s hard to tell he accurately captured Diddy’s personality or if it veered towards the point of exaggeration.

The problem with a movie that features such a large number of celebrity personalities is that it’s impossible to develop them all in the context of the film. As such, they’re presented as one-sided. You have to come in to the movie with a little background on Sean Combs, Tupac Shakur, Faith Evans and Lil’ Kim to understand their motivations.

Another gripe about the film is that it childishly represents the East-Coast / West-Coast rivalry, essentially attributing it to a miscommunication. Tupac was led to believe that Biggie and Sean Combs were connected to the his being robbed and shot in Manhattan in 1994. As the film’s main turn, I was hoping for more substance here. It’s a commonly held belief that the rivalry resulted in Shakur and Wallace’s death, so you

George Tillman Jr., impressively directed, capturing the moods and environments of the 1990s. The on-location shooting in Brooklyn and Manhattan other parts of New York set authentic backdrops to the story. I also enjoyed that the movie didn’t take itself too seriously. Humor is dispersed throughout the film and it also showed the infamous charm that Biggie had. A heavier tone wouldn’t have worked as well, especially given that the film was more of a celebration of his life rather than a documentary on his death. The obvious added bonus is the soundtrack featuring primarily Biggie’s works (and many other Bad Boy and mid-90s tracks), which all serve to emphasize dramatic points in the movie. I found myself singing (rapping) along in almost every instance.

The Blu-ray release looks amazing and, again, the sound and music is where this film excels. Included are both the theatrical version and the unrated Director’s Cut.

The special features compliment the movie very well, most of which boil doing to a “making of” of particular moments in the movie. My favorite was the “Life After Death: Making of Notorious” featurette, which gives a great look at what it took to bring the movie together, starting with the casting of Woolard as the centerpiece. It really speaks to the authenticity that Wallace’s mother and Tillman attempted to achieve with the film. Another great bonus is The B.I.G. Three-Sixty feature, which presents an introspective on the scene of Biggie’s murder.

All the bonus features:

Unrated Director’s Cut and theatrical versions of the film
•    Commentary with Director George Tillman, Jr., Co-Screenwriter Reggie Rock Bythewood, Co-Screenwriter Cheo Hodari Coker and Editor Dirk Westervelt
•    Commentary with Producer/Biggie’s Mom Voletta Wallace, Producer/Biggie’s Co-Manager Wayne Barrow and Producer/Biggie’s Co-Manager Mark Pitts
•    Behind the Scenes: “Making of Notorious” Featurette
•    I Got a Story to Tell: The Lyrics of Biggie Smalls
•    NOTORIOUS Thugs: Casting the Film
•    Biggie Boot Camp
•    Anatomy of a B.I.G. Performance
•    Party & Bulls**t (never-before-seen footage of the real B.I.G.)
•    The B.I.G. Three-Sixty
•    Deleted Scenes
•    Digital Copy

Notorious is best seen by fans of the rap icon, but, if you’re not, don’t let that preclude you from watching this interesting and different biopic.