Viewed in
2010
Formats
HD TV
Premise
Part of ESPN's 30 for 30 series, a documentary about when Mike Tyson and Tupac Shakur crossed paths before Shakur's death in 1996.
Liked
The cornucopia of interviews.
Disliked
The rapping narrators and visual gimmicks.
Thoughts
Beforehand, I thought the premise was a bit of a reach (no pun intended), but the film turned out to be a well-executed documentary.
The story was pretty interesting, thanks to the numerous people interviewed (including Shakur family) and their accounts of the year before Pac was gunned down. Most unexpected interview was Suge Knight. Most engrossing interview was Tyson's. I liked how the documentarians clearly illustrated the similarities between Tyson and Tupac's careers and lives, and how they both recognized it in each other and related to each other.
Unfortunately, the rapping narrators did not work for me at all. It was too gimmicky and amateurish, especially while contrasted to Shakur's music and lyrics. It'd be like using some dude from the gym to do a physical demonstration of Tyson's boxing skills. To a lesser extent, the graphic novel transitions felt unnecessary as well, Pac and Tyson were naturally hypnotic screen presences without the help of any visual aid.
More than a cheap hybrid of Tupac: Resurrection and Tyson, it had a small, but interesting tale to tell.
What I would change
Not used the rapping narrators.
