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Notorious

Notorious

Music · Drama · History · 2009

"Notorious" is the story of Christopher Wallace. Through raw talent and sheer determination, Wallace transforms himself from Brooklyn street hustler (once selling crack to pregnant women) to one of the greatest rappers of all time: The Notorious B.I.G. Follow his meteoric rise to fame and his refusal to succumb to expectations - redefining our notion of "The American Dream."

Movie details

Notorious

“No dream is too B.I.G.”

2009 Music · Drama · History 2h 2m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.0 / 10

Community rating

"Notorious" is the story of Christopher Wallace. Through raw talent and sheer determination, Wallace transforms himself from Brooklyn street hustler (once selling crack to pregnant women) to one of the greatest rappers of all time: The Notorious B.I.G. Follow his meteoric rise to fame and his refusal to succumb to expectations - redefining our notion of "The American Dream."

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Notorious?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

George Tillman Jr.

Written by

Reggie Rock Bythewood · Cheo Hodari Coker

Jamal Woolard

Jamal Woolard

Christopher 'Biggie' Wallace

Derek Luke

Derek Luke

Sean 'Puffy' Combs

Naturi Naughton

Naturi Naughton

Lil' Kim

Anthony Mackie

Anthony Mackie

Tupac "2Pac" Shakur

Antonique Smith

Antonique Smith

Faith Evans

Angela Bassett

Angela Bassett

Voletta Wallace

Marc John Jefferies

Marc John Jefferies

Lil Cease

Court is in session

Put Notorious on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.