Notorious

Play trailer

Notorious

R

2009

2h 2m

Biography

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

52%

Tomatometer

143 Reviews

65%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

Born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., Christopher Wallace parlays his gift for storytelling into a career as a rap artist. Eventually dubbing himself Biggie Smalls, then later, the Notorious B.I.G., Wallace's tales about violent street life take him to the top of the rap charts. The subject he so often raps about catches up with him in March 1997, when he is shot to death after leaving a party.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

A biopic that lacks the luster of its subject, Notorious is generic rise-and-fall fare that still functions as a primer for those less familiar with the work and life of the hip hop icon.

Read Critics Reviews

Henry Barnes

Little White Lies

02/19/2009

The inclusion of real-life footage and re-enacted YouTube clips is an interesting idea, but with each awkward stab at a new shooting style, Tillman Jr moves closer towards disgracing his subject with yet another hack job.

Go to Full Review

Xan Brooks

Guardian

02/13/2009

3/5

Now in blows the myth of the myth: a brashly entertaining biopic.

Go to Full Review

Tim Robey

Daily Telegraph (UK)

02/13/2009

2/5

This team have smoothed over the details of Biggie's rags-to-riches ascent, they haven't succeeded in making it terribly interesting.

Go to Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

12/15/2023

2/4

Notorious spins a myth that portends to be a docudrama, which is a little insulting when there’s so much more informative and enlightening material out there on the rapper, his life, and especially the circumstances of his death.

Go to Full Review

Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

09/18/2020

3.0/4.0

Woolard also performs much of the film's music.

Go to Full Review

Leigh Paatsch

Herald Sun (Australia)

05/14/2020

3/5

This so-bad-it's-actually-almost-brilliant biopic has an endearingly dodgy way of softening up hard facts.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Stephen C

@bob25009 Mar 3

Based on hip-hop artist The Notorious B.I.G.'s life and career in 2 hour and 2 minutes. The worldwide gross is $44,371,151.00.

See more

Ian F.

@thismeansguerra Nov 1

I love this for sentimental value

See more

alan g

@agenser Apr 28

Making a hero and legend out of a criminal. Just because he made a lot of money pandering to the mob. Should be forgotten.

See more

MariofanAlex445 T

@RT47678067 02/07/2025

I don’t know. I feel like they skipped a lot of time just so the film wouldn’t be that long. The guy who played biggie was ok I guess. This film won’t stick with me tbh. 2/5 stars.

See more

Mason H

@RT38681881 12/14/2024

It’s a good movie I know people do not like this bio pic but I think it’s amazing it perfectly matches bigges real life and it makes sure to get its facts right. Casting it amazing and bigges actor fits the role perfectly.the only thing that bothers me is how short the scenes are as well as the dialogue. But yeah must watch if you like Bigge smalls.

See more

Cam The Homie T

@RT89209874 11/19/2024

I had no idea Anthony Mackie played Tupac 🔥

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

George Tillman Jr.

Director

Angela Bassett

Voletta Wallace

Derek Luke

Sean "Diddy" Combs

Jamal Woolard

Christopher Wallace

Anthony Mackie

Tupac Shakur

Antonique Smith

Faith Evans

The Last King of Scotland

87%

89%

The Last King of Scotland

Watchlist

Howl

64%

58%

Howl

Watchlist

Bronson

75%

74%

Bronson

Watchlist

The Sessions

91%

80%

The Sessions

Watchlist

The Fighter

91%

89%

The Fighter

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Fighter

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Box Office Guru Wrapup: Paul Blart Segways Ahead of the Competition

Critics Consensus: Paul Blart: Mall Cop Isn’t Arresting

Box Office Guru Preview: Valentine’s Day Comes Early

View more photos

Synopsis

Born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., Christopher Wallace parlays his gift for storytelling into a career as a rap artist. Eventually dubbing himself Biggie Smalls, then later, the Notorious B.I.G., Wallace's tales about violent street life take him to the top of the rap charts. The subject he so often raps about catches up with him in March 1997, when he is shot to death after leaving a party.

Director: George Tillman Jr.
Producer: Voletta Wallace, Wayne Barrow, Mark Pitts, Robert Teitel, Trish Hofmann
Screenwriter: Cheo Hodari Coker, Reggie Rock Bythewood
Distributor: Fox
Production Co: Fox Searchlight
Rating: R (Drug Content|Dialogue|Nudity|Pervasive Language|Some Strong Sexuality)
Genre: Biography, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 16, 2009, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 25, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $36.8M
Runtime: 2h 2m

Most Popular at Home Now