
In 1997, rap superstars Tupac Shakur and Christopher Wallace (aka Biggie Smalls, The Notorious B.I.G.) were gunned down in separate incidents, the apparent victims of hip hop's infamous east-west rivalry. Nick Broomfield's film introduces Russell Poole, an ex-cop with damning evidence that suggests the LAPD deliberately fumbled the case to conceal connections between the police, LA gangs and Death Row Records, the label run by feared rap mogul Marion "Suge" Knight.... (Full plot summary below)
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In 1997, rap superstars Tupac Shakur and Christopher Wallace (aka Biggie Smalls, The Notorious B.I.G.) were gunned down in separate incidents, the apparent victims of hip hop's infamous east-west rivalry. Nick Broomfield's film introduces Russell Poole, an ex-cop with damning evidence that suggests the LAPD deliberately fumbled the case to conceal connections between the police, LA gangs and Death Row Records, the label run by feared rap mogul Marion "Suge" Knight.
Leave your thoughts about Biggie & Tupac.
| Los Angeles TimesManohla DargisOne of the better documentaries I'd seen in years -- it plays like a suspense thriller because that's exactly what it is. |
| St. Paul Pioneer PressChris HewittWeirdly, Broomfield has compelling new material but he doesn't unveil it until the end, after endless scenes of him wheedling reluctant witnesses and pointing his camera through the smeared windshield of his rental car. |
| Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertCompulsively watchable and endlessly inventive as it transforms Broomfield's limited materials into a compelling argument. |
| TheMovieReport.comMichael DequinaAn engrossing and rather suspenseful mystery investigation. |
| Slant MagazineEd GonzalezBroomfield reveals an ironic manifestation of institutionalized slavery that ties a black-owned record label with a white-empowered police force. |
| Combustible CelluloidJeffrey M. AndersonBiggie and Tupac is so single-mindedly daring, it puts far more polished documentaries to shame. |
| L.A. WeeklyErnest HardyDeceptively rambling, shrewdly ragtag documentary. |
| St. Paul Pioneer PressChris Hewitt (St. Paul)Weirdly, Broomfield has compelling new material but he doesn't unveil it until the end, after endless scenes of him wheedling reluctant witnesses and pointing his camera through the smeared windshield of his rental car. |
| Aisle SeatMike McGranaghanWhether you like rap music or loathe it, you can't deny either the tragic loss of two young men in the prime of their talent or the power of this movie. |
| Arizona Daily StarPhil VillarrealBroomfield fashions himself a crusading hero, and it's likely that enthusiasm that helps him do his job, but it's the director's self-love that robs the film of some integrity. |