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Notorious

Play trailer Poster for Notorious R Released Jan 16, 2009 2h 2m Biography Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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52% Tomatometer 143 Reviews 65% Popcornmeter 50,000+ Ratings
Born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., Christopher Wallace (Jamal Woolard) 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 of 1997, when he is shot to death after leaving a party.
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Notorious

Notorious

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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.

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Critics Reviews

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Nell Minow Movie Mom Rated: B- Feb 14, 2012 Full Review Henry Barnes Little White Lies 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. Feb 19, 2009 Full Review Xan Brooks Guardian Now in blows the myth of the myth: a brashly entertaining biopic. Rated: 3/5 Feb 13, 2009 Full Review Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review 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. Rated: 2/4 Dec 15, 2023 Full Review Richard Propes TheIndependentCritic.com Woolard also performs much of the film's music. Rated: 3.0/4.0 Sep 18, 2020 Full Review Leigh Paatsch Herald Sun (Australia) This so-bad-it's-actually-almost-brilliant biopic has an endearingly dodgy way of softening up hard facts. Rated: 3/5 May 14, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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KENDREA B I love this movie!! Biggie was one of the greatest rappers to ever touch the mic. My only dislike was the portrayal of Lil Kim. Just like she said in an interview..this depiction was far from accurate and I believe it was as well. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 09/16/23 Full Review R B Pretty much what I was expecting. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 06/28/23 Full Review Audience Member Besides the biopic aspects, the cast is really what runs this show. Worth it just for Jamal Wollard’s performance as BIG. Anthony Mackie also does a fine job as Tupac, though not a lot of ground is covered there. And can you stand how great Angela Basset in anything she does? I didn’t believe she was Jamaican and they didn’t explain why she had no accent at all. Also after she gets a troubling diagnosis, the movie loses track of her for a long stretch. And the way Puff is portrayed you would think he wasn’t a man at all but an angel sent to earth to help us all achieve our dreams. Maybe because Puff was producer on this? Yeah. That’s exactly why. All in all super glad I finally pulled this one out of my notoriously big queue. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 06/12/23 Full Review T23Byon M Top notch acting. Real influencer to Hip Hop culture. Real hip hop music. Tearjerker. All in 1. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 04/12/23 Full Review Jaime R This was the best movie I've ever seen the story behind biggie smalls almost 100% accurate Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/27/23 Full Review Audience Member Whether the movie could have been better is debatable...but what isn't is the extraordinary life of an influential musician. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Notorious

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis Born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., Christopher Wallace (Jamal Woolard) 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 of 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
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