Reviews

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 18% based on 92 reviews, with an average rating of 4.3/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Despite Demetrius Shipp Jr.'s fine lead performance, All Eyez on Me is mostly a surface-skimming, by-the-numbers biopic of a larger-than-life icon." On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating, the film has a weighted average score of 38 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale, and PostTrak reported filmgoers gave it an 82% overall positive score.

Glenn Kenny of The New York Times gave the film a negative review, saying: "Almost all the dialogue is that flat-footed. It’s a stark contrast to the almost always vivid power of Shakur’s own words, which could be profoundly empathetic and pettily profane." Owen Gleiberman of Variety wrote: "Comprehensive but sketchy, richly atmospheric but often under-dramatized, it is not, in the end, a very good movie (there are a few scenes, like Tupac’s initial meeting with Ted Field of Interscope Records, that are embarrassingly bad). Yet it’s highly worth seeing because in its volatility and hunger, and the desperation of its violence, it captures something about the space in which Tupac Shakur lived: a place that wanted to be all about pride and power, but was really about flying over the abyss."

Historical Accuracy
Jada Pinkett Smith stated that the film contained inaccuracies about her relationship with Shakur, and why he left for California. Smith specified that Tupac never read the poem he read to her character in the film, and that she had no knowledge that it even existed until it was published in his book. She also stated that she never attended one of Shakur's shows at his request, and that there was no backstage argument. However, she praised the performances of Shipp and Graham. Ayanna Jackson, the woman who had accused Shakur of sexual assault, described her portrayal in the movie as, “absolutely ludicrous … nothing about it is me at all,” and that the film's depiction of the situation between her and Shakur was “such a falsehood”. Jackson stated that she walked out of the movie theater while seeing the film after seeing her portrayal. Both Sean Combs and Suge Knight gave blessings to the film, praising their respective portrayals.

In June 2017, shortly after All Eyez on Me was released journalist Kevin Powell filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against the filmmakers. In the complaint Powell alleged that the film was derived from several articles that Powell wrote for Vibe Magazine in the 1990s. While events from Tupac's life are in the public domain, Powell claimed to have "changed or embellished" portions of his articles. One of the claims made by Powell in the lawsuit was that he had invented the character of Nigel.


All Eyez on Me premiered on June 14, 2017, at the Fox Bruin Theater and was released in the United States on June 16, 2017. Unfortunately the film received generally negative reviews from critics and was a disappointment at the box office, only grossing $55 million worldwide on an over $40 million budget.


ALL EYEZ ON ME (FILM)

All Eyez on Me is a 2017 American biographical drama film about rapper Tupac Shakur, directed by Benny Boom and written by Jeremy Haft, Eddie Gonzalez and Steven Bagatourian. The film stars Demetrius Shipp Jr. as Shakur with Kat Graham, Lauren Cohan, Hill Harper and Danai Gurira in supporting roles, with Jamal Woolard reprising his role as Christopher "The Notorious B.I.G." Wallace from Notorious (2009).


Talks of a Tupac biopic began in 2011 by Morgan Creek Entertainment Group. The film languished in development hell for several years with various directors, including Antoine Fuqua and John Singleton, attached at different points before Boom was confirmed in November 2015. That December, Shipp Jr., whose father worked on music videos with Shakur, was cast as the rapper and principal photography began that month. It lasted until April 2016, filming in Atlanta, Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

Production

On February 10, 2011, it was announced that Morgan Creek Productions was developing, and would finance and produce, Tupac, a biographical film about rap legend Tupac Shakur, which would follow his entire life, from growing up in East Harlem to becoming a legendary songwriter and hip-hop artist, to his death in Las Vegas at the age of 25. Antoine Fuqua was attached as the director of the film, and the script was written by Steven Bagatourian, Stephen J. Rivele, and Christopher Wilkinson.


On February 12, 2014, John Singleton signed on to rewrite, direct and produce the film, and on April 16, 2014, Open Road Films acquired the United States distribution rights. Ed Gonzalez, Jeremy Haft, and Singleton wrote the then-latest draft of the script. On April 7, 2015, it was revealed that Singleton had exited the film due to major creative differences, while Carl Franklin was being eyed to direct instead.


On November 30, 2015, it was reported that music director Benny Boom would direct the film, replacing Franklin. In early December 2015, the film's title was confirmed to be All Eyez On Me. Newcomer Demetrius Shipp, Jr. was set to play Tupac. Jamal Woolard joined the film to play The Notorious B.I.G., Tupac's friend turned rival, reprising his starring role in the 2009 film Notorious. On January 11, 2016, Danai Gurira was added to the film's cast to play Tupac's mother Afeni Shakur, a political activist and member of the Black Panther Party. Variety reported the next day that Kat Graham had signed on to play Jada Pinkett, a friend of Tupac from the Baltimore School for the Arts. It was later revealed that Dominic L. Santana had been cast as record producer Suge Knight.

On January 13, Jamie Hector signed on to play Mutulu Shakur, Tupac's stepfather. On January 15, Lauren Cohan joined the cast to play Leila Steinberg, a key figure in Tupac's life, as his mentor. Money B appeared in the film as himself, Tupac's coworker at Digital Underground,while Clifton Powell was cast as Floyd, an inmate at the Clinton Correctional Facility, and Johnell Young as Tupac's close friend Ray Luv. On January 19, TheWrap reported that Grace Gibson had been cast to play Biggie Smalls' wife, Faith Evans, and on January 22, 2016, Keith Robinson was cast as Atron Gregory, a TNT Records founder, who first helped Tupac become a dancer and a solo artist. Annie Ilonzeh was added to the cast in February 2016 to play Kidada Jones, who was engaged to Tupac at the time of his death. Photography on the film began in mid-December 2015 in Atlanta, Georgia. Filming wrapped on April 12, 2016, in Las Vegas, Nevada.