George Tillman Jr.'s "Notorious," a by-the-numbers biopic about the life of Brooklyn rapper Christopher "Notorious B.I.G." Wallace (1972-1997),is sure to only please the members of his core fan-base, myself amongst one of them. I was 11 in March 1997 when Biggie Smalls was shot and killed in Los Angeles, California, just seven months after his friend and fellow rap artist Tupac Shakur (1971-1996) was shot and killed in Las Vegas; Tupac died the day after my 11th birthday in 1996.

Many thought that their murders were part of the whole East Coast/West Coast rivalry between rap artists during the mid '90s. Both Big and Tupac became the unlikely martyrs of gangsta rap and the violence that characterizes it. What's most shameful about that is that over a decade after their deaths, it seems that the hip-hop community has yet to learn a very valuable lesson.

But I'm getting off-track. "Notorious" is a well-made and well-acted movie. Unfortunately, however, it's too by-the-numbers and follows the tried-and-true methods of most biopic storytelling: it glamorizes the life of the character, goes from one success to another, and doesn't really shed anything new on the person the movie is about. Of course it traces the beginnings of Biggie's life, from growing up as a bright Catholic school student in Brooklyn raised by his loving mother Voletta Wallace (a perfectly cast Angela Bassett),to his dropping out of school at age 17 to sell crack on the streets to help feed his baby daughter, and his eventual being signed to the then-newly formed Bad Boy Records by his best friend Sean "Puffy" Combs (Derek Luke). The rest, as they say, is history.

I also forgot to mention that Jamal Woolard, as Biggie, who is also an aspiring rapper himself, is probably the best thing about this movie. He really captures the essence, and character of Big, and not only does he look like him, but he also talks AND sounds like him. And his skills on the microphone are undeniable as well. He lends some authenticity to the film's rhyming sessions, rapping to the songs of the real-life Notorious B.I.G., and he pulls it off magnificently. It's a star-making performance that unfortunately gets overshadowed by too many of the film's flaws.

The script (co-authored by Biggie's biographer Cheo Hodari Coker) skips from one success to another; that's the biggest problem with most biopics. Another problem I had was that the portrait of the main character was pretty one-sided. While I personally consider his debut record "Ready to Die" to be one of the most important and significant rap albums ever recorded - it helped return the East Coast rap scene to prominence - I'm not totally certain that he was truly one of the greatest rap artists who ever lived, especially after only two finished recordings. And I really would have liked to have seen more of Big's friendship with Tupac Shakur (Anthony Mackie),which I felt was one of the most overlooked and tragic aspects of his life during the East Coast/West Coast rivalries. (People often forget that not only were they friends early on, but they were very close friends.)

And while I'm quite certain that the sex appeal of Lil' Kim (Naturi Naughton) is one of the reasons for her success as a rapper, I also feel that one of the reasons she's here, apparently, is to show A LOT of skin and seem like the biggest, baddest 'ho in hip-hop (that's debatable). Big's relationship with wife Faith Evans (Antonique Smith) was not all that well-developed either, as was Big's friendship with Puffy, or the members of Junior M.A.F.I.A., who he helped to promote along with Lil' Kim, whom he was carrying on an affair with while still married to Faith. I also would have liked to have seen some of the paranoia and fear that gripped Biggie in the final months of his life as well, and a little bit more on the aftermath of his murder.

Like I said earlier, I'm a fan of the Notorious B.I.G. myself, and so I'm sure that I'm one of those people that would have liked "Notorious" a lot more. That's the biggest tragedy about his life and this film. His short life and violent death made him one of the most important, and tragic, figures in hip-hop. I also think it's a disgrace that not much has been done by law enforcement officials to try to solve his murder, or Tupac's for that matter, and the questions revolving around the involvement of corrupt police officers in both killings have yet to be followed up in any significant fashion by anyone.

I'm not going to be a cliché: I don't think he was one of the greatest rappers, personally, but the impact of his music on the industry cannot be denied by anyone: he helped the East Coast's rise back to the top of the rap scene in the mid '90s. As for the movie about his life, on the hand, it could have been better - a lot better.

7/10

This is a movie that I was looking forward to, until the reviews started rolling in....

Now obviously, I don't take the critics word as the gospel truth, and more often than not, I disagree with them, but I thought the producers and directors must have messed something up, to be getting all the negative backlash.

I suppose the best way to properly start this review is by asking a question - What exactly did you want from the movie? I was expecting, and looking forward to, a dramatised portrayal of the life and times of Christopher Wallace, which is exactly what I got, and I enjoyed every minute of it, from start to finish.

Now being a long time fan of the Notorious B.I.G, may imply that this review could be biased, but I can assure you that I am, more often that not, more than ready to attack a movie and pick it apart, no matter what it is.

As someone who knows the ins and out of the story, obviously, there were some things that bothered me slightly, including the void of some key characters who played a big part in Biggie's life, and the less than impressive casting of Tupac and Puffy's characters. Referring to the last point, their acting was great, but on appearance, Anthony Mackie looks nothing like Shakur, and lacked the charisma and iconic presence that Pac had. Big boots to fill. I felt the same way about the actor who played Puffy.

During the east coast vs west coast segments, the movie was slightly biased towards the Bad Boy camp, but come on, this is a movie to celebrate Big's life. It didn't bother me at all. There are plenty of documentaries and articles for one to read, if they want a purely fact based, and raw account of the story, from both parties.

Now back to the positives. Jamal was absolutely incredible as BIG. A flawless performance.

The movie was gripping throughout, and I found myself eagerly awaiting the progression.

The acting was generally good, and the soundtrack was almost perfect, apart from one or two tracks that I would have liked to have seen/heard in the mix, but thats just personal opinion.

Now for those who are not a fan of Biggie, or Hip Hop for that matter, I would not cross this off your list yet. You won't be overly bombarded with hardcore gangster rap songs, thuggery and street slang. Obviously, Biggie's songs are prominent throughout, but the music is not relentless, and I'm almost sure that these guys had a wider target audience in mind when making the film. This is not a film that is just for 'the fans' or those on the 'streets'.

Obviously, Big was no angel, and some of his ways, especially in his earlier life, could offend some. Certain scenes involving sex, drugs, and cheating had to be present, in order to maintain an accurate depiction of the man.

Lil Kim had a problem with the way her character was portrayed, and I can see why. I don't know enough about her life, or her role in Big's life to comment, so I will have to look into that someday.

We all know what happens in the end, so its no spoiler. I was a little choked. I didn't think I would be, but I was. A sign that the crew have done their job correctly. The movie hit the right spots. Excitement, sadness, and inspiration.

The conclusion? I loved the film, and look forward to watching it again with some friends.

This is not Oscar worthy by all means, and I'm sure people will continue to nitpick away, but once again, these people really need to ask themselves what they were expecting, and what exactly they wanted from a biopic film.

8/10

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.