Tupac Resurrection(2003) Film Review

 

* This review contains strong language, truly sorry about that. But how can you do a review of something involving Tupac without quoting him?

Rating: 4 Stars Out Of 4, Thumbs Way Up.

Rated R For Strong Language And Images Of Drugs, Violence And Sex.
1hr 52min/112min.
34 Uses of the F-word.

Tupac Shakur: "What makes me saying 'I don't give a fuck' different than Patrick Henry saying 'Give me liberty or give me death'?"

 Tupac Shakur: "Since we all came from a woman, got our name from a woman & our game from a woman, I wonder why we take from our women, why we rape our women, do we hate our women."

 

I'm not some big Tupac aficianado, or fan, but I can say that Tupac might be considered the best rapper of all time. The way he died was heartless and brutal. While Tupac Resurrection is no the best documentary I have ever seen, it is the best music documentary I've seen, and has to be one of the best documentaries I have seen. I will say, it is the most powerful documentary I have ssen. If you grew up with Tupac's music, then this film will really hit home with you. Sadly, I never got to grow up with his music. I was born 2 years after his death, but from the songs that I've listened to, He is a truly talentented and soulful artist, with great songs like "Brenda's Got A Baby" "Hit 'Em Up" and "Keep Your Head Up."
 



The film is actually narrated by Tupac Shakur himself. Now, how can that be if he died 7 years prior to this film. What the filmmakers did is take audio clips from interviews and whatnot and string them together for the man himself to tell you his own story. This is a brilliant idea and works well in the finished product. Tupac Amaru Shakur was born on June 16, 1971 and sadly passed away on September 13, 1996. During his 25 years of life, he released 5 albums, those being 1991's 2Pacalypse Now, 1993's Strictly For My N.I.G.G.A.Z., 1995's Me Against The World, 1996's All Eyez On Me and 1996's The Don Killimunati: The 7 Day Theory, and starred in 6 films. 1992's Juice, 1993's Poetic Justice, 1994's Above The Rim, 1996's Bullet, 1997's Gridlock'd and 1997's Gang Related.

 

What's really sad is the way he died. On September 6th 1996, Tupac was riding to a hotel after a Mike Tyson fight. When they stopped at a stoplight, a white car pulled up to the side of their vehicle, rolled down the window, and shot him 9 times. Tupac was in critical condition for 7 days until he finally passed away. As stated above, his murder was heartless and brutal. His murder still remains unsolved. That's what unsettles me the most.

 

The whole East Coast/West Coast rivalry, when you think about it, is extremely pointless. I think Tupac added a lot of fuel to this fire with the song "Hit 'Em Up". Keep in mind, I think it's a good song, but if you listen to the first verse, He really broke any friendship that him and Biggie Smalls had. "First off, fuck your bitch And the clique you claim,West side when we ride Come equipped with game. You claim to be a player, But I fucked your wife, We bust on Bad Boys niggas fuck for Life. Plus Puffy tryin' to see me weak Hearts I rip. Biggie Smalls and Junior Mafia Some mark ass bitches. We keep on coming While we running for your jewels Steady gunning Keep on busting at them fools. You know the rules, Little Ceasar go ask you homie How I'll leave you, Cut your young ass up, See you in pieces, Now be deceased Little Kim, Don't fuck around with real G's Quick to snatch your ugly ass, off the streets, So fuck peace. I'll let them niggas know, It's on for Life,Don't let the west side Ride the night (ha ha) Bad Boys murdered on Wax and kill fuck with me And get your caps peeled."
 

This film truly highlights how great a man Tupac was. The film highlights all of the trouble he got into, with most of the things he did he was falsely accused of such as a sexual assault in 1994. Tupac was also a big supporter of womens rights, such as the quote stated above. That quote, "Since we all came from a woman, got our name from a woman & our game from a woman, I wonder why we take from our women, why we rape our women, do we hate our women." is something that always comes to my mind when I hear of a sexual assault or a muder of an innocent woman.
 

Now, me being a film critic, I have never seen a film with Tupac in it. It's not because I don't want to, it's just that his films are a little hard to find, especially Bullet and Gang Related. Thanks to this documentary, I have seen clips of his acting, and he's not bad, he's actually extremely good. I just wish that I could see one of his acting jobs, instead of seeing clips of it.

 

Tupac Resurrection is a powerful look at a man, whose life was taken far too early. The documentary actually makes you belive, for 112 minutes, that Tupac is stil alive. There are some funny stories relayed throughout, such as Tupac explaining the difference between "nigger" and "nigga" and Janet Jackson changing her phone number the day after Potic Justice wrapped. Tupac Resurrection is a must see for anyone who is a fan of Tupac, and music in general.