Worst Movies of 2009: 10 - Notorious

Sadly while there have been a lot of very good movies this year there have been, inevitably, some that have not been so good.

And kicking the Worst Films of 2009 off at number ten is the biopic picture Notorious starring Jamal Woolard, Angela Bassett and Derek Luke.

In a few short year Christopher Wallace, AKA Notorious B.I.G, left behind the tough streets of Brooklyn to become one of the world’s biggest rap stars.

Sadly Nortorious is the hard hitting story of the streets that it could have been focusing more on Wallace’s home life and turning it into a soap opera.

We all know the tragic story of Biggie and his rivalry with Tupac that saw both of them lose their lives long before their time.

With that in mind this movie really could have been a gangland epic but sadly turns into just another run of the mill biopic.

They had so many roads that they could have explored and so much story that they could have brought to the big screen it’s disappointing that they really played it safe.

While there is nothing particularly wrong with Notorious it’s not the movie that it could have been and that is really a shame.

Jamal Woolard gives a great central performance as Biggie and he does well with the story that was put in front of him, as does Derek Luke as Sean Combs.

But it’s Angela basset’s performance that is truly outstanding as Biggie’s mother who tries desperately to keep her away from a life of drug dealing and struggles as a single mother.

I feel the real problem here was the involvement of Voletta Wallace, Biggie’s mother, and Sean Combs as they have maybe not got under the skin of the story as well as they could.

However they were not afraid to show Biggie’s flaws and troubles as a crack dealer, infidelity and his poor fathering skills, it’s always refreshing to see these stars portrayed as real people.

There is not glaringly bad about this film, the soundtrack is brilliant, it’s just that ‘we’ve seen this all before’ feeling as they failed to produce anything new and exciting in the biopic genre of film.

Notorious is merely a tribute to Christopher Wallace when it could have been something so much more.

FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw