Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		2.5

All Eyez on Me Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 31, 2017

All Eyez on Me was still long delayed a few months ago when I reviewed the interesting if conspiratorial documentary Tupac Assassination: Battle for Compton, but as I mentioned in that review , 2017 was slated to be a banner year for remembrances of Tupac Shakur. Unfortunately, the remembrance of Pac in All Eyez on Me, while commendably thorough and at least relatively unsensationalized, never really digs beneath the surface of its iconic focal character. Hollywood’s relationship with biographical films of famous folks is often an object lesson in so-called “fictionalizing” (and in fact All Eyez on Me carries a disclaimer about such efforts in its closing credits), and so it’s often important to have an understanding of motives behind any given production. In the case of All Eyez on Me, it might be instructive to listen to co-producer L.T. Hutton, who mentions in an interview included on this Blu-ray as a supplement that he feels he was more or less predestined to release a film about his friend and collaborator, and that in fact he feels that Pac himself somehow “knew” Hutton would ultimately make a film about Shakur, regaling Hutton with anecdotes about his (Tupac’s) life. That supposed “insider” status, especially from someone who obviously seems intent on “protecting” Tupac’s reputation, is a salient clue that All Eyez on Me, for all its thoroughness in detailing a lot of aspects of Tupac’s life, is less of a biography than a hagiography. The film is bolstered by a really visceral performance by Demetrius Shipp, Jr., who bears a rather striking resemblance to Pac, as well as (perhaps even more so) by Danai Gurira as Afeni Shakur, Tupac’s mother who is seen as a defiant Black Panther in one of the film’s early scenes, and a woman whose revolutionary sensibilities were obviously passed down to her son. Tupac as a character has shown up, at least tangentially, in a couple of other high profile films about the then nascent rap industry, including such outings as Notorious and Straight Outta Compton, but at least All Eyez on Me attempts to give a little more insight into Tupac’s life (and especially his past) than some of these other productions which have emphasized only his brief years of fame and overwhelming success.

All Eyez on Me deals with a large swath of Tupac’s early life by framing the film within the context of an interview Tupac gave while in prison serving his sentence on a (disputed) sexual assault charge. It’s an overly convenient artifice that is hobbled by some pretty clunky dialogue (something that recurs throughout the film), but it at least gives some fairly interesting background on Tupac’s childhood, one fraught with danger due to the activism of his stepfather, Mutulu Shakur (Jamie Hector). The film actually finds some of its most interesting content in these relatively brief establishing scenes, but things quickly segue to Tupac’s late teen years at the Baltimore School for the Arts, where he gives a supposedly stellar reading of the “to be or not to be” monologue from Hamlet, a performance which only further ingratiates him to longtime friend and classmate Jada Pinkett (Kat Graham).

The film goes on to dutifully document a number of elements in Tupac’s too brief life, including his being mentored by Leila Steinberg (Lauren Cohan) and, later, the skirmishes with The Notorious B.I.G. (Jamal Woolard), but that’s the thing — All Eyez on Me seems intent on ticking off data points rather than really trying to examine Tupac as anything other than some kind of Divine Messenger who was cut down far too soon. It’s probably another salient clue as to the filmmakers’ approach that the documentary featuring interviews with Hutton and director Benny Boom mention a “Bible” of sorts that accompanied the official screenplay, a list of supposedly verified Google data (according to the featurette) that provided background information on each and every event depicted in the film. But like a lot of Google searches, the depictions here seem to only scratch the surface, getting overall content dealt with but never really offering much nuance or even insight.

Tupac’s story is so riveting that even its cursory presentation here is often quite compelling, but the film repeatedly trips over some of the most unnatural sounding dialogue ever, as well as performance styles that don’t always mesh organically. Perhaps ironically, the real revelation for me personally in this film was really what an incredible woman Afeni Shakur was and what an incredible film her story might make.

My colleague Brian Orndorf was evidently even less impressed with All Eyez on Me than I was. You can read Brian's thoughts here.

All Eyez on Me Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

All Eyez on Me is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films and Summit Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. The film's closing credits mention Arri cameras generically without detailing which model was used, but some tangential online data suggests the Alexa was utilized to digitally capture the imagery. The transfer is by and large excellent, though there is a lot of very dimly lit material in the film, either in interior locations like clubs or recording studios, or in many instances nighttime sequences. As such, while everything has the sharp and generally precise look expected of this technology, detail levels are often at least somewhat variable since things are actually hard to see at times. When lighting regimens allow, though, detail and fine detail are often abundant, with elements like Tupac's tufts of facial hair looking bristly and almost palpable. I personally wished for a bit stronger contrast, if only to make some of the darker scenes pop a bit better in terms of shadow definition or even differentiation between some of the burnished tones on display. The film is actually pretty much free of any aggressive grading, and the palette looks natural and well suffused. There are a couple of brief but noticeable moments of banding, typically when the camera is aimed at stage lights and the bulk of the frame is darker.

All Eyez on Me Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As might be expected, All Eyez on Me's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track gets a nice workout when Pac's music is used either for performance sequences or underscore. The thumping bass lines and kick drums punch through the subwoofer extremely effectively, and best of all, while very vigorous sounding, don't ever really overwhelm rap or other vocal elements. Surround channels are used to establish good spatial relationships, as when Pac and the interviewer step outside into the prison yard, or, later, in some club scenes. Occasional gunfire erupts, offering brief bursts of explosive sonic energy. Dialogue is always presented cleanly on this enjoyable and propulsive track.

All Eyez on Me Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Legends Never Die: The Making of All Eyez on Me (1080p; 26:46) is an above average EPK with some good interviews.


• Becoming Tupac (1080p; 9:07) documents Shipp's journey with the iconic role.


• Demetrius Shipp, Jr. Raw Audition Tape (1080p; 4:42)


• All Eyez on Me Conversations (1080p; 35:21) is a set of rather interesting round table discussions featuring a number of cast and crew discussing Tupac, his influence and legacy, and the making of the film.


• Deleted Scenes (1080p; 8:00)

All Eyez on Me Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

All Eyez on Me obviously has its heart in the right place, but there's no really serious examination of what made Tupac the phenomenon he was in this film, and instead we are simply provided with a laundry list of events. Shipp, Jr. is excellent in the focal role, but for me personally it was Gurira who was the heart and soul of the film. Technical merits are generally strong (especially the audio) for those considering a purchase.