It was supposed to be the definitive cinematic monument to the most charismatic, polarizing, and brilliant rapper to ever touch a microphone. We waited years for it. Fans sat through a revolving door of directors, legal battles over music rights, and a casting search that felt like it was looking for a needle in a haystack of lookalikes. When the All Eyez on Me movie finally hit theaters in 2017, the anticipation was thick enough to cut with a blade.
But then the credits rolled.
The silence in the theater wasn't the kind of reverent hush you get after a masterpiece. It was the sound of collective confusion. Demetrius Shipp Jr. looked so much like Tupac Shakur it was almost haunting. He had the mannerisms down—the way 'Pac shifted his weight, the flash of the smile, the intensity in the eyes. Yet, the movie itself felt like a checklist of Wikipedia entries rather than a living, breathing soul. It’s a strange phenomenon when a film has the perfect lead and the perfect source material but still misses the mark.
The Long, Messy Road to the All Eyez on Me Movie
You can't talk about this film without talking about the "development hell" it survived. Hollywood had been trying to get a Tupac biopic off the ground almost since the moment he died in Las Vegas in 1996. For a long time, Antoine Fuqua—the guy who gave us Training Day—was attached to direct. Then it was John Singleton, the man who actually worked with 'Pac on Poetic Justice.
Singleton eventually walked away. He didn't just leave; he vented. He basically said the people involved weren't respecting Tupac’s legacy. When a director who knew the subject personally bails because the "vibe" is wrong, that’s usually a massive red flag.
Enter Benny Boom.
Boom came from the world of music videos. He’s a veteran who worked with everyone from Nicki Minaj to 50 Cent. But directing a sprawling, three-decade-spanning epic about a revolutionary's son who became a global icon is a different beast than a four-minute clip for MTV. The All Eyez on Me movie struggled under the weight of trying to please everyone—the estate, the fans, the casual viewers—and ended up feeling a bit like a "Greatest Hits" montage with no B-sides.
What Worked (And What Really Didn't)
Let's be fair for a second. There are moments in this film that actually land. The early scenes involving Afeni Shakur, played with a raw, vibrating intensity by Danai Gurira, are the movie's backbone. She brings a gravity to the role of a former Black Panther struggling with addiction and the burden of raising a "black prince" in a world that wants him dead.
✨ Don't miss: Austin & Ally Maddie Ziegler Episode: What Really Happened in Homework & Hidden Talents
When the film leans into the political roots of the Shakur family, it feels vital. You see where the rage came from. You see why Tupac wasn't just another rapper.
But then, the movie shifts into the Death Row Records era.
This is where things get messy. The portrayal of Suge Knight, the rise of the East Coast-West Coast rivalry, and the recording sessions feel... well, they feel like a TV movie. There's a scene where Tupac hears "California Love" for the first time, and it’s played out like a cheesy "aha!" moment. Life rarely happens in such tidy, cinematic beats.
The Jada Pinkett Smith Controversy
One of the loudest voices against the film was Jada Pinkett Smith herself. She and Tupac were incredibly close—soulmates in a non-traditional sense. After the All Eyez on Me movie was released, she took to social media to point out several inaccuracies that hurt the film's credibility.
Specifically, she noted:
- Tupac never read her a poem he wrote for her in the way depicted in the film.
- He never said goodbye to her because he was leaving for LA; their relationship was much more complex and fraught at that time.
- The "reimagined" version of their bond felt, to her, like a betrayal of their actual history.
When the living person depicted in your "true story" says it’s fiction, the SEO-friendly "based on a true story" tag starts to lose its shine. It makes the viewer wonder what else was tweaked for the sake of a smoother narrative.
The Comparison Trap: Straight Outta Compton
The All Eyez on Me movie had the misfortune of coming out just two years after Straight Outta Compton. That N.W.A. biopic set a new gold standard. It had a massive budget, the backing of Dr. Dre and Ice Cube, and a gritty, cinematic sweep that made it feel like Goodfellas with a hip-hop soundtrack.
🔗 Read more: Kiss My Eyes and Lay Me to Sleep: The Dark Folklore of a Viral Lullaby
By comparison, All Eyez on Me felt smaller. The lighting often felt flat, and the pacing was frantic. It tried to cover everything:
- The New York childhood.
- The Baltimore school of the arts.
- The Digital Underground days.
- The solo stardom.
- The trials and jail time.
- The Death Row explosion.
- The Las Vegas finale.
It’s too much for one movie. By trying to cover the whole timeline, we lost the man. We saw the events, but we didn't always feel the evolution. Pac was a man of contradictions—a feminist who wrote "Keep Ya Head Up" and a firebrand who lived the "Thug Life" mantra. The movie showed us the contradictions but didn't quite explain how they lived in the same body.
The Sound and the Fury
Music rights are usually the death knell for biopics (just look at the Jimi Hendrix movie that couldn't use his songs). Luckily, the All Eyez on Me movie had the catalog. Hearing those masters in a theater setting is a visceral experience. "Ambitionz Az a Ridah" hitting through a theater sound system is enough to give anyone chills.
The soundtrack is arguably the best part of the experience. It reminds you why we’re still talking about a man who died nearly 30 years ago. His voice had a texture—a desperate, urgent rasp—that the film captures through the original recordings. Demetrius Shipp Jr. lip-syncs with incredible precision, but it’s the ghost of the real Tupac’s voice that carries the emotional weight of the scenes.
Why It Still Matters for the Fans
Despite the critical lashing and the mid-tier Rotten Tomatoes score, the movie did okay at the box office. Why? Because the hunger for Tupac content is bottomless. People wanted to see him "alive" again.
There is a specific kind of magic in seeing the 1990s recreated—the oversized leather vests, the bandanas, the cellular phones the size of bricks. For a generation that grew up with 'Pac as a poster on their wall, the film was a nostalgia trip. Honestly, sometimes that’s enough for a Friday night stream. But for the "stan" who knows every interview by heart, the inaccuracies in the All Eyez on Me movie are like nails on a chalkboard.
For instance, the movie uses a version of "Hail Mary" that wasn't even recorded yet during the timeline it's played in. Little things like that break the immersion for the hardcore fans. It’s like seeing a character in a 1920s movie wearing a digital watch.
💡 You might also like: Kate Moss Family Guy: What Most People Get Wrong About That Cutaway
How to Watch and What to Look For
If you’re going to watch it today, don't go in expecting Raging Bull. Go in expecting a passionate, if flawed, tribute.
Pay attention to:
- The Performance: Demetrius Shipp Jr. really did put his heart into this. It’s not his fault the script was clunky.
- The Afeni Scenes: These are the most "human" parts of the movie.
- The Fashion: The costume design is remarkably accurate to the era’s specific aesthetic.
If you want the real, unvarnished story of Tupac, you’re probably better off watching the documentary Dear Mama directed by Allen Hughes. It has the depth and the "why" that the biopic lacked. It explores the trauma and the brilliance in a way a scripted film just couldn't quite grasp.
Moving Forward: The Legacy of the Biopic
The All Eyez on Me movie serves as a cautionary tale for Hollywood. It proves that having the lookalike and the music isn't enough. You need a perspective. You need to decide what story you’re actually telling. Is it a tragedy? A political thriller? A rags-to-riches tale? By trying to be all of them, the film became a bit of a blur.
If you want to dive deeper into the world of Tupac after watching, here are the moves to make. First, go back and watch his actual film work. Juice and Gridlock'd show his actual acting range, which was formidable. Second, read The Rose That Grew from Concrete to see the sensitive poet that the movie only briefly touches on.
Ultimately, Tupac Shakur was too big for the big screen. No single movie could capture the whirlwind of energy he was. While the All Eyez on Me movie is a decent entry point for someone who only knows him from the radio, the man himself remains much more interesting than his cinematic counterpart.
To get the most out of the film's context, compare its portrayal of the Death Row era with historical accounts from journalists like Cheo Hodari Coker. This provides a clearer picture of the atmosphere that led to the film's climax. Also, look into the "Tupac Resurrection" documentary for a self-narrated look at his life, which fills in the emotional gaps the 2017 film left behind.