Considered by many as "larger than life" not only in stature, but his music, Notorious pays tribute to the talented Christopher Wallace (aka Biggie Smalls or Notorious B.I.G.) who passed long before his time.

The movie takes us back to his childhood where as an intelligent kid, Wallace gave up school to sell dope on the streets, unbeknownst to his mother Voletta (Angela Bassett) until he was almost an adult. He was addicted to making money no matter the cost, as shown when he doesn't hesitate to sell crack to a pregnant women.

There we follow him into adulthood. From landing in jail, to landing a record deal with the help of Sean "Puffy" Combs, Notorious depicts Wallace as a boy with a calm and charming demeanor, yet has a lot of growing up to do. Yes, his ability to create and deliver lyrics is phenomenal and came to him with ease. However, his rise to the top in this film finds a way to spin the childish, wreckless behavior of his personal life. It feels like the film tries to overly soften Wallace's image, as he's selling drugs, neglecting his daughter or cheating on his wife, Faith Evans (Antonique Smith).

The casting of Jamal Woolard as Wallace was an absolutely brilliant move. Woolard nails his portrayal of The Notorious B.I.G. with every mannerism, and it's fascinating to watch him bring this film to life. Naturi Naughton also does a great job as the feisty Lil Kim. It's funny watching Derek Luke as Sean Combs. With the real Sean Combs as Executive Producer of the movie, it's only natural that his charcters comes off as the one that keeps Wallace's eyes on the prize, and continually provides him with wise insight on life with quotes like, "You can't change the world until you change yourself." Unfortunately, Tupac's (Anthony Mackie) character is hard to watch; he comes off as nothing more than a caricature.

The movie does show the East Coast/West Coast feud and how it became out of hand during Biggie's perspective, but doesn't get into detail about his (or Tupac's) murder because it's a film about his life, not an episode of "Unsolved Mysteries." Near the end Wallace seems to go into reflective mode about his life, citing that he's finally realized what really matters most in life (aka his family). However, that comes off as being too cheesy and screams "something bad is going to happen, so we have to give his character pseudo peace and realization of his maturation."

Notorious is a fairly solid biopic that covers the highlights of Biggie's life just enough for fans and newcomers alike to enjoy.

Rating: 5.5 out of 10