DVD Review: Biggie and Tupac (B)

Biggie & Tupac (2002)
Directed by Nick Broomfield
Starring Notorious B.I.G., Tupac Shakur, Nick Broomfield and Russell Poole
MPAA: R
Grade: B

Review by Scott Standish

If you've seen any of Nick Broomfield's other documentaries (Heidi Fleiss: Hollywood Madam, Fetishes, or especially Kurt & Courtney) then you know that his movies (like Michael Moore's) usually end up being as much about the director's attempt to track down the story as the subject matter itself. This film pulls no punches in that regard, going right to the sources of the Biggie and Tupac murder investigations.

Detectives on the murder cases are interviewed and at one point an actual witness to the shooting emphatically picks out the triggerman from a picture lineup. But of course, there is always more to the story. At this point, just about every one knows who killed Biggie and Tupac, it's just a matter of getting the police to actually act on the evidence. Russell Poole was the lead investigator for the LAPD on these murders, and he was taken off the case once he started to dig too deep. Poole identified LA police officers working for the main suspect, Death Row Records owner Suge Knight.

Most of the revelations here have already been explained in full detail in the excellent book LAbyrinth by Randall Sullivan. Death Row Records employed dozens of off-duty LA police officers to carry out some of the more intricate enforcement projects of the label. The label is rumored to have carried out organized crime on par with many of the largest crime families, including drug trafficking, extortion and murder. Whether true or not, the allegations against Mr. Knight (and the LAPD) seem to keep coming.

Biggie and Tupac features a fascinating subject matter, a rather goofy documentary filmmaker keeping things interesting, and some interesting clues as to where Suge's enforcement arm might be going in the future. Part documentary, part reality show, this adds up to a pretty interesting 107 minutes.

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