Notorious is an excellent companion piece to the albums of the late Chistopher “The Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace. That is to say, this movie is great for fans of him and his music, but not so much for the average viewer. The entire movie plays out like a dramatization from The Notorious B.I.G.’s episode of VH1’s Behind the Music, often with similar acting.

Notorious tells a noticeably skewed story as one of the main characters (you know, the one that sees the potential in young Chris Wallace and takes him off the dangerous streets and into groupie-filled limos), Sean “Puffy” Combs, is a producer on the project. It tells the glorified tale of Notorious B.I.G.’s rise from a young social outcast with an overprotective mother to the man who single handedly changed hip-hop, the world itself, would have prevented the attacks on the World Trade Center had he survived and had the freshest manager ever who can make you a star if you just believe in him. The first time actor and star of Notorious, Jamal "Gravy" Woolard, comes across at different times as either an impeccable embodiment or an untrained gangsta rap cosplayer. Conversely, one of the highlights of the film is seeing The Notorious B.I.G.’s son, Christopher Wallace Jr. play a young version of his own father.

Extras

• Unrated Director’s Cut and theatrical versions of the film
• Commentary with Director George Tillman, Jr., Co-Screenwriter Reggie Rock Bythewood, Co-Screenwriter Cheo Hodari Coker and Editor Dirk Westervelt
• Commentary with Producer/Biggie's Mom Voletta Wallace, Producer/Biggie's Co-Manager Wayne Barrow and Producer/Biggie's Co-Manager Mark Pitts
• Behind the Scenes: “Making of Notorious” Featurette
• I Got a Story to Tell: The Lyrics of Biggie Smalls
• NOTORIOUS Thugs: Casting the Film
• Biggie Boot Camp
• Anatomy of a B.I.G. Performance
• Party & Bulls**t (Brand new footage of the real Notorious B.I.G. filmed on what appears to be a prototype of the first camera phone)
• The B.I.G. Three-Sixty (An interactive panorama of the corner where he was shot with little clips related to the scene.)
• Deleted Scenes
• Digital Copy

Overall
The DVD is released in two versions, the single disc version and bonus feature-filled collector’s editon (two discs on Blu-ray and three on DVD). What it really comes down to is, if you’re a fan enough of the artist and already planning to purchase this, you may as well go all out and pick up the Notorious Collector’s Edition as it has plentiful bonus features, if you’re impartial or dislike him, give the whole thing a pass.

ComicsOnline gives Notorious 2.5 out of 5 rap martyrs.