For anyone that grew up in the mid-90's, most of the events in Notorious will seem incredibly familiar because of how much media exposure it got during the time. I am not claiming that I know everything about the East coast vs. West coast battles, but everything seemed as accurate as my memory remembers.
I thought the casting was spot-on. Jamal Woolard debuts as The Notorious B.I.G. Not only does he look the part, but his performance almost makes me remember history differently. Angela Bassett plays Mrs. Wallace, Biggie's mom, and I thought she had the best performance in the entire film. One of my favorite things about Notorious was the mock performances that were re-created. I was too young to attend a Biggie Small's show and being able to watch one that isn't archive footage is probably the best I can get.
Notorious is packed with special features and they are fairly deep and extensive. There are behind-the-scenes clips, making-of features, archive footage, and even a digital copy to do with as you please. The Collector's Edition comes with an unrated director's cut that adds about six minutes of extra footage, nothing that changes the story in any big way. A Blu-ray version of Notorious isn't really necessary because there aren't any special effects or action sequences to show it off, but it does look great nonetheless.
I really dug Notorious, and even though I am more of a metal fan, I have a special place in my heart for gangster rap. Regardless of the fact that I was Tupac fan when their beefs were in the mainstream, I appreciated how faithful they were to portraying Christopher Wallace in Notorious. If you don't know, now you know. Pick up Notorious whenever you get a little extra cash, because like Biggie said, "mo' money, mo' problems."
