An official film about the life of Tupac Shakur has been trying to get off the ground for years now. Anthony Mackie’s portrayal of 'Pac was (somewhat ironically) about the best thing in the disappointing Biggie movie Notorious, and he was brought to life by newcomer Marcc Rose (with the voice of Darris Love) for that one mindblowing scene in Straight Outta Compton. But despite a shit ton of rumors over the years, and a 2Pac movie being pretty much guaranteed box-office gold, nothing has happened. Yet.
So then thank god for Until The End Of Time. Erm, I mean, I guess. Until The End Of Time appears to be an unauthorized sort-of-biopic of 2Pac made in China. Based on this trailer it seems to follow a Chinese student who is inspired by a teacher (who rocks a moustache that has hit peak-Whole Foods-enthusiast) to do an assignment on Shakur. He gets cheered by his classmates, questioned by the authorities, and wears a snapback. You’ve seen inspirational movies before, right? He gets advice from a girl who claims to have once hooked up with ‘Pac (despite looking barely old enough to have been alive when he was killed), and it also seems to be peppered with flashback interviews from the 90s. Tupac is played by Californian newcomer Tsalta Baptiste, who definitely looks the part and is clearly trying to get the iconic body language down. I’m not sure what to make of it all, really. It’s clearly cheap AF, but it’s coming from a place of love, and it does show how far 2Pac’s legend has reached. F Gary Gray won’t be losing any sleep over it, but I can’t say I don’t want to see it.
Here's Tsalta Baptiste's audition tape.
