Plot: What’s it about?
After the success of Straight Outta Compton, it seemed inevitable we’d get more stories like it. And who other than Tupac Shakur? After all, he accomplished quite a bit in his unfortunately short life. Not only did he sell millions of records, but he also ventured into the acting scene as well. I must say, he really was quite talented. I’m by no means a rap fan, but I admit that I did enjoy some of his songs. Not only was Compton a hit with critics and audiences, it also did quite well at the Box Office. Eyez, unfortunately suffered a far worse fate. The film failed to click with either audiences or critics, and seemed to disappear from theaters as quick as it arrived. Clearly, all eyes weren’t on it. See what I did there? That inevitable question must be asked. Did the film deserve this? You’ll have to read on a bit to see.
There’s no denying that the life of Tupac Shakur (Demetrius Shipp Jr.) Provides great source material for a film, but something was obviously lost in translation here. I don’t want to come out of the gate swinging here, but I was all ready to jump on board with this film and go with it. Sadly, it’s just all over the place and lacks much focus. Any time it feels like it’s building toward something, it keeps jerking us in a different direction. I can’t imagine the task of trying to condense the life of such a talent into a 2-plus hour film, but they should’ve dialed down on something more specific. We begin in 1995 at the Clinton Correctional Facility where we see a filmmaker sit down and interview Tupac. We then cut back to 1971 where we meet his mother and her struggles with being harassed by the FBI. The feds are after her husband, but she refuses to cooperate with them. We learn a bit about Tupac’s early life and his rough upbringing. He has a sister and their mother makes the two of them move to California. He then meets Jada Pinkett and we follow that relationship for a while. We see some Tupac spends with Digital Underground as well before branching off on his own. I won’t delve into the various plot threads the film gets into as that will prove tiring, but there’s really not a stone left unturned. The problem is some are glossed over while too much time is spent on others. I did enjoy seeing portions of his acting, but that’s only a small fraction of the film.
The technical aspects of this film are on point. All the actors do a fine job, but the film just needs more focus. I kept wanting to give in and go with the film, but it’s just too flawed for me to do so. I can’t help but wonder if some sort of mini-series or TV movie might’ve given us more time to explore certain elements and let them breathe. As it stands, the film tries to do too much, but ends up doing too little at the same time. That sounds like a strange contradiction, but this feels more like a greatest hits reel than a feature film. It’s not terrible by any means, but it only occasionally touches greatness. There’s still a far better film about Tupac to be made. This one isn’t it.
Video: How’s it look?
I was surprised just how nice this transfer looked. I was expecting to give my usual remarks (which I still will do), but things were very impressive here. The AVC encoded 2.40:1 transfer features a pretty flawless image. Actually, I’d hard-pressed to find any flaws. There’s simply a clean look to the whole thing and colors are always spot on and accurate. Flesh tones nice and smooth and detailed as well. I have to wonder how much better a 4K version could look, because this was pretty perfect to me.
Audio: How’s it sound?
The DTS HD track more than delivers the goods as well. From the early moments of the film to the last, this track really engages us. Obviously, the musical side of things will be the biggest attraction as there’s a lot of it. We also get some violent scenes as well that also add to the track. Fans should be quite pleased with the results here. All the channels stayed active and vocals were fine as well.
Supplements: What are the extras?
DVD Extras
- Legends Never Die: The Making of All Eyes on Me – An obligatory EPK that has the standard faire, some behind the scenes footage and interviews with the cast and crew about the film, the “legend” and so forth.
- Becoming Tupac – A bit on what actor Demetrius Shipp Jr. went through to portray Tupac.
Blu-ray Exclusives
- Deleted Scenes – The already long film (139 minutes) had to trim some fat somewhere and this is what was removed. Similar to Straight Outta Compton, this was just too long and more scenes should have been cut.
- Legends Never Die: The Making of All Eyes on Me -An obligatory EPK that has the standard faire, some behind the scenes footage and interviews with the cast and crew about the film, the “legend” and so forth.
- Becoming Tupac -A bit on what actor Demetrius Shipp Jr. went through to portray Tupac.
- All Eyez on Me Conversations – Some interviews with the principal players.
- Demetrius Shipp, Jr. Audition – This ties in with the above feature a bit as we see some early, rough footage of the audition.
The Bottom Line
The film tries to do too much, but ends up doing too little at the same time. That sounds like a strange contradiction, but this feels more like a greatest hits reel than a feature film. It’s not terrible by any means, but it only occasionally touches greatness. There’s still a far better film about Tupac to be made. This one isn’t it.
