Notorious (2009)
Average Rating: 5.6/10
Reviews Counted: 139
Fresh: 71 | Rotten: 68
A biopic that lacks the luster of its subject, Notorious is generic rise-and-fall fare that still functions as a primer for those less familiar with the work and life of the hip hop icon.
Average Rating: 6.1/10
Critic Reviews: 40
Fresh: 23 | Rotten: 17
A biopic that lacks the luster of its subject, Notorious is generic rise-and-fall fare that still functions as a primer for those less familiar with the work and life of the hip hop icon.
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Movie Info
Fox Searchlight presents the tragic life story of rap star Notorious B.I.G. from director George Tillman Jr. (Soul Food) and executive producer Sean "Diddy" Combs. The script is provided by Cheo Hodari Coker and Biker Boyz writer/director Reggie Rock Blythewood. Jamal Woolard portrays the slain rapper, with Angela Bassett, Derek Luke, and Anthony Mackie filling out the supporting cast. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi
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Cast
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Angela Bassett
Voletta Wallace -
Derek Luke
Sean "Diddy" Combs -
Jamal Woolard
Christopher "Biggie" Wa... -
Anthony Mackie
Tupac Shakur -
Antonique Smith
Faith Evans -
Naturi Naughton
Lil' Kim -
Kevin L. Phillips
Mark -
Dennis L.A. White
Damion -
Marc John Jefferies
Cease -
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Aunjanue Ellis
Sandy -
John Ventimiglia
Det. Farelli -
Charles Malik Whitfield
Wayne -
Christopher Jordan Wallac...
Biggie (age 8-13)
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All Critics (141) | Top Critics (40) | Fresh (75) | Rotten (70) | DVD (17)
As mainstream hip hop becomes ever more predictable, so do the biopics about its stars.
Top CriticEven if we miss the thinking that went into the creation of Wallace's B.I.G.-ger-than-life alter ego, the movie's performances are exultant.
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.
If Milk set the standard for biopics in 2008, then 2009 is off to a strong start with Notorious.
For a hardcore fan of his music and his life, it rings true.
Notorious is like a piece of well-crafted bling. It looks good, and facets of it shine, but behind the gilded facade there's not much there.
Absent the actual music, Notorious would be a lot worse.
Though it never quite devolves into pure hagiography, the film's central tale of crack dealer made good is sometimes a little too hokey for its own good.
Notorious is a tribute the rapper's contribution to pop culture.
Here is one of those discs that takes full advantage of the BluRay medium.
You've heard of laundering money? Well, this film biography of rapper Notorious B.I.G. has all the earmarks of--not monetary but morality cleansing.
The gluttonous Biggie in all his materialist glory!
While it's now less a case of race than class in black film, Notorious seems to still be taking tabloid cues more from alien ghetto underclass drama and what's come before, rather than bringing new and improved insight to the table beyond the cool music.
While it's now less a case of race than class in black film, Notorious seems to still be taking tabloid cues more from alien ghetto underclass drama and what's come before, rather than bringing new and improved insight to the table beyond the cool music.
[An] intermittently entertaining but thoroughly conventional Biggie biopic.
What might have been an African-American gangland epic with a killer soundtrack treads safely as a run-of-the-mill biopic.
Notorious is a pretty standard biopic, and is probably largely compromised. If you've never seen Nick Broomfield's excellent 2002 doco Biggie And Tupac, you'd be better served hunting that down instead.
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.
There is little here to attract anyone but the core fan-base.
Audience Reviews for Notorious
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Super Reviewer
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- Sean "Diddy" Combs: Can't change the world unless we change ourselves.
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Latest News on Notorious
January 29, 2009:
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Foreign Titles
- Notorious B.I.G. (FR)
