Notorious

2009 "No dream is too B.I.G."
6.7| 2h2m| R| en| More Info
Released: 16 January 2009 Released
Producted By: Fox Searchlight Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website: http://www.notorious09.com
Info

"Notorious" is the story of Christopher Wallace. Through raw talent and sheer determination, Wallace transforms himself from Brooklyn street hustler (once selling crack to pregnant women) to one of the greatest rappers of all time: The Notorious B.I.G. Follow his meteoric rise to fame and his refusal to succumb to expectations - redefining our notion of "The American Dream."

Genre

Drama, History, Music

Watch Online

Notorious (2009) is now streaming with subscription on Prime Video

Director

George Tillman Jr.

Production Companies

Fox Searchlight Pictures

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Notorious Audience Reviews

Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.
Taraparain Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.
Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
Brenda The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one
TheLittleSongbird Am not a fan of rap music to be perfectly honest, never have been. That's all personal opinion of course. Being raised on classical music and appreciating pop and rock music (if more older hits than the new ones) may have something to do with it, but to me rap has never felt like music. Have often found it repetitive and preachy and some rappers don't even do it well.Giving 'Notorious' a fair chance, as Charistopher "Biggie" Wallace did have an interesting life and he was/is one of the better rappers there was. His songs are pretty catchy and not as repetitive and preachy as other rap songs and he had great charisma and was good at what he did. 'Notorious' is not a bad film, but could have been much better, from all the mixed opinions here one can see both sides.The best asset is Jamal Woolard, who is brilliant in the lead. He certainly did his homework and worked very hard preparing for a role that had big shoes to fill, one cannot believe he was a newcomer. Angela Bassett gives a powerful performance too and is one of the few standouts in the supporting cast.'Notorious' is well filmed and lit. The music and the way it's interpreted and staged is great and is some of the film's most interesting content. There were a few touching moments with his short life ending in tragedy.However there are some large problems. 'Notorious' tries to cover too much ground, making scenes dull and underwhelmed. The conflict between Biggie and Tupac doesn't have anywhere near the depth it ought to have done, not getting to the root of the trouble, which if done well could have been where the film most excels. Biggie's womanising and bling lifestyle gets awfully repetitious and resorts to every cliché in the book and a complete lack of maturity.The film constantly feels shallow with all the characters painted in a one-sided way and nobody feel like real or fleshed out characters that one cares for. The script is stilted and underdeveloped, while the film can drag and the drama can be heavy-handed and with too many pointless scenes that add nothing. Anthony Mackie is miscast in every sense and Derek Luke is nowhere near sharp enough.In conclusion, lacking in a lot of areas but has enough elements to make it a one-time watch, though some are likely to not have the desire to see it again. 5/10 Bethany Cox
Irishchatter I've heard of him on and off my life but I never really listened to his movie until I got to see this movie in 2017. Seriously, like all the other rappers, they do tend to have sex with many women. However like Biggie, they are very talented and brilliant at what they do. I actually never knew he discovered Lil Kim. It stuns me to think hes no longer with us 20 years later. He really shouldn't have rivaled with 2pac, the pair of them were good at what they did, I just don't understand why they are fighting over whose best either east coast or west coast. I suppose well never know why these two legends had to fight for their music. It's too bad they aren't with us no more. RIP NOTORIOUS ♡♡♡
rmmatteson Just finished watching Notorious and I wish I could undo seeing it. I like rap music and all but this movie was awful. I tolerated "Get rich or die trying" and "ATL", but not this one. The actor who played Biggie was not believable at all. The only thing that made it semi watchable was the occasional female nudity. The actor who played tupac also played "Papa Doc" from "8 Mile" and was much better in that movie. This movie was definiely over hyped and over produced. It seemed like they had enough movie to make a great movie, but I just wasn't feeling it from the actors themselves. They need to go back to acting school and relearn the basics.
Christian_Dimartino I loved Oliver Stone's The Doors. Though Jim Morrison was an unlikable guy, the film was compelling and I loved the music and the way the story was told. That movie was a masterpiece. When I was watching Notorious, the film about the late rapper Notorious B.I.G., I had a hard time finding anything enjoyable about it at all. The film tells the story of Notorious B.I.G.(Jamal Woolard) , his short time of fame, and his rise and fall. It shows his relationships between his wives, girlfriend, his mother, and Tupac,until(spoiler alert for anybody who actually cares)his death in 1997.I know i'm disrespecting the dead here, but this guy was not likable. He was a cheater. He cheated on his wife, he cheated on his mistress, he cheated on his mistress's mistress. He was a bad father, a bad son, a bad husband, and(please don't kill me, America), a bad musician.I don't like any of his songs, so thats why the extended concert sequences(there are plenty of them)get very aggravating after a while. Watching him do all of this stuff really got under my skin. Every time he would screw somebody, I would think" who in their right minds would screw him?"I was also thinking," How could anybody enjoy a movie about a fat black adulterer who does a lot of drugs and never stops?" I know I don't. I really started hating the film once Biggie grew up, which took about five minutes. Obviously, the director was a fan, and this is a love letter to him. But the end is the thing that really got under my skin. It shows all of this footage of people who were heartbroken after he died. And I was thinking"He wasn't Jesus". They made it seem like he'd done something for America. I know what he did: He took up space.I am not a racist. And i'm sorry for all the fans i've disrespected in this one review. But I really couldn't stand this repetitive and boring biopic that doesn't really go anywhere. I really hated this movie. "Birthdays was the worst days, now we're drinking champagne when we're thirstay". Thats a B.I. G. quote. The movie will want you to go chug some scotch afterwards. Skip it.D