I'd just watched the first MI movie a few days before viewing this sequel, and it's like Ethan is a different character. He is so much more smug than the first film. I can see why the villain wanted to knock his smile off his face. Moving from Brian De Palma to John Woo as a director gives this a very different feel and tone. It lacks the same tension as MI, but has more impressive action for the most part. With John Woo, you know you are going to get an overkill of slow-mos. The motorcycle action scenes towards the end of the film are some of the best I've seen and made me think of Terminator 2's iconic chase whilst watching it. To be negative, Thandiwe Newton as Nyah, wasn't impressive at all and in any film with an Australian, they always give them the strongest most stereotypical accent possible, don't they... Finally, check out the slap sound effect added when Nyah hits Sean in the car. They went a little overboard in the editing room there. 3-3.5

I only gave this a two out of five when I listened to it many moons ago, but upon revisiting it, I don't dislike anything. Yes, you can argue the posthumous albums should have well and truly stopped by now, and that these types of albums, with copy and paste verses and lots of features, were damaging 2Pac's legacy, and I understand that argument, but I don't think the music is bad at all here. For one, it feels more authentic than Eminem's 'Loyal to the Game', most of the features bring their A-game, from the rappers to the singers, like Keyshia Cole, who sings her backside off on 'Playa Cardz Right (Female)', and there is lots of respect put on Pac's name throughout the verses. There is a line in 'Pac's Life (Remix)' where Snoop seems to give himself credit for Pac's fame that to me doesn't fit in with the paying homage theme - "Cause I took the focus off of me to put 'All Eyez On you'." The producers did a decent job too with most of the production being likeable. The worst thing here is 'International' with its very '06-ish instrumentation. 'Whatz Next' kind of falls into that category as well and so does 'Pac's Life' with its electronic kind of elements that were so common in the mid-'00s. Elsewhere though, most don't sound dated. The bonus tracks 'Dear Mama (Frank Nitty Remix)' offers a more soulful slant on the hip hop classic with Anthony Hamilton adding his amazing crooning. And then a song from young Pac, 'Scared Straight', is hard as nails and sounds like an outtake from 2Pacalypse Now. Both only have Pac rapping, so they are worthy additions for that aspect as well. If you press play on this album expecting to hear 2Pac most of the time, stay away. Most songs only have one Pac verse, with a couple having two of them, but he's often on the hook in some way. When he is rapping though, his voice still "carries" as he says on 'Don’t Sleep'. Beats: ★★★ Rapping/Bars: ★★★★ Hooks: ★★★☆ Best Tracks: Dumpin', Playa Cardz Right (Female), Sleep, Playa Cardz Right (Male), Don't Stop, Dear Mama (Frank Nitty Remix)

After revisiting Pac's three double disc posthumous albums, this one will feel like a cup of coffee. "During an interview with MTV, Eminem stated he was so moved by Tupac's life and work that he wrote a letter to Tupac's mother, Afeni Shakur, asking her to consider letting him produce his next album. Shakur agreed, allowing Eminem to produce three new songs for the 2003 soundtrack album, Tupac: Resurrection, and the entirety of Loyal to the Game, bar bonus content." - Wikipedia A cup of coffee, but not a tasty one. The opener is weak, with Eminem's singing on the chorus, and just the chorus in general, leaving something to be desired and the beat not being great either. 'The Uppercut' is better, but the production could change up for the hook more to make it stand out. Without any change up it gets boring. Without writing a track by track review, the only tracks that stand out much are the ones Em got his Stan collaborators back for with Elton John and Dido on 'Ghetto Gospel' and 'Don't You Trust Me' respectively. Bubbling under those are songs like 'Out on Bail' and 'Thug 4 Life', (but I prefer the '90s originals of those), plus 'N.I.G.G.A.' that has a likeable dark beat and 'Black Cotton' is okay as well. The remixes, produced by Scott Storch, Red Spyda, Raphael Saadiq and DJ Quik, say a lot about this album, with all of them being among the best songs. The remix of 'Hennessey' is just so funky and soulful and completely outshines Em's version. Eminem isn't a bad producer, who handles the first 13 songs collaboratively with Luis Resto, but there just aren't enough good or diverse moments on the boards and a lot doesn't sound authentic with 2pac's vocals. This is the first posthumous album of Pac's that isn't worthwhile. Between a 2.5 and 3 out of 5. Beats: ★★☆ Rapping/Bars: ★★★☆ Hooks: ★★☆ Best Tracks: Ghetto Gospel, Don't You Trust Me, Po Nigga Blues (Scott Storch Remix), Hennessey (Red Spyda Remix), Loyal to the Game (DJ Quik Remix)

"This is yet another posthumous release by 2Pac which raises the question, where are these songs coming from? It's interesting how the message in these songs is still relevant today. I can feel the energy in the air as they count down to midnight. When the album will officially be released. Oh, hold on. I think they're starting to countdown now." - 'Intro' Here we go. Another double-album to revisit. As I said in my review of 'Until the End of Time', I don't know why the labels thought they'd release all of these double albums, but they did... This starts off really well. I think 'Still Ballin' (Nitty Remix)' was one of the first Pac songs I listened to and it just bumps. 'When We Ride on Our Enemies' is hard and another great way to help kick the album off. However, from there the consistency drops off. There are lots of good tracks, but the really high moments are sparse. On the first listen I was somewhat bored with this but double albums always take some time to digest. You can't spin this once and form a valid opinion on it. If you check this out on a streaming service, make sure you don't forget about 'Late Night', produced by DJ Quik, that has been removed from those platforms. It's one of the strongest on the album. Nas' 'Thugz Mansion' gets a lot of love. I'm definitely in the minority in not feeling it, but the production just never does enough and there is no hook to it. I prefer every remix of it I've heard and it's no different here with the mix on the second disc working much better. Disc 1 Best Tracks: Still Ballin' (Nitty Remix), When We Ride on Our Enemies (Briss Remix), Mama's Just a Little Girl (KP Remix), Late Night The second disc kicks off with two great songs as well, with the remix of 'My Block', again produced by Frank Nitty, featuring a soothing chorus. The production is simple but works really well with Pac's raps. And then there is the better version of 'Thugz Mansion' that I alluded to earlier. There is no Nas, but everything else about it is better including the one and only voice of Anthony Hamilton murdering the hook. From there, the consistency is fairly good, but the disc hits its peak towards the other bookend with Johnny J producing the final four songs, three of which are well worth going back to, and before that is 'Catchin Feelins', another highlight from the album. I love the type of dark production featured. This is the better disc with fewer skips. Disc 2 Best Tracks: My Block (Nitty Remix), Thugz Mansion (7 Remix), Catchin Feelings, This Life I Lead, Who Do U Believe In, They Don't Give a Fuck About Us As with Pac's previous posthumous double-disc albums, there is fat to trim, but there are still lots of worthy songs, even if Pac isn't heard as often as we'd like. After revisiting all three of Pac's double-disc posthumous albums, there isn't a lot between them. 'Until the End of Time' has the most amount of poor moments with some that don't feel like Pac would have ever put them on an album. This project doesn't have those problems. This is another credit to Pac's work ethic and talent that so many outtakes made for great music. Beats: ★★★☆ Rapping/Bars: ★★★★ Hooks: ★★★★

After my listen to this album years ago, I rated it 3.5/5. I have never spun it again. I wanted to be more familiar with this album, so I've decided to revisit it. While his previous solo album, 'R U Still Down? (Remember Me)' featured recordings from 1992-1994, this has Pac's '95-'96 vocals. It does seem like, though, that more was done to the instrumentation, features and overall production post-Pac than 'R U Still Down?'. I've interestingly seen the view that his previous solo posthumous album is exploitative, and the production is poor, but at least that production was and sounds like something Pac would've rapped over. As I'll get into, some of these don't. Disc 1: The opener, 'Ballad of a Dead Soulja', is great, but it only takes two songs, with 'Fuck Friendz', to feel too modern for lack of a better word. The production and hook is too poppy and there are other moments where the production doesn't feel like a natural fit that would become more of a problem as the labels continued to roll out Pac albums until they stopped with 'Pac's Life'. 'Let Em Have It' has similar problems. It feels odd with Pac saying "rock your body"... I can't imagine it being on one of Pac's albums. I feel a similar way with 'Letter 2 My Unborn' that features MJ's 'Liberian Girl' as a sample. The best here are the hard tracks, like the opener, 'Breathin' and 'Everything They Owe'. There are too many sex tracks and some poppy themes in the production. 'All Out' features an aggressive Pac, and is close to being one of the best, but it feels a tad unfinished to me. Something doesn't quite gel like it should. Best Tracks: Ballad of a Dead Soulja, Breathin, Everything They Owe Good: Lil' Homies, Good Life, Letter 2 My Unborn, Happy Home, All Out, Until the End of Time, World Wide Mob Figgaz Ehh: Fuck Friendz, Let Em Have It, Fuckin Wit the Wrong Nigga, Thug N U Thug N Me (Remix), M.O.B. Disc 2: I feel this disc doesn't have the same amount of lows as D1. 'When Thugz Cry' is great with its progressive production and hook that makes it feel like it builds up, and lyrically it's classic Pac. 'Words 2 My First Born' is one of the strongest as well. There is lots to like. Best Tracks: When Thugz Cry, Why U Turn on Me, This Ain't Livin, Words 2 My First Born Good: My Closest Roaddogz, Niggaz Nature (Remix), U Don't Have 2 Worry, Why U Turn on Me, LastOnesLeft, Thug N U Thug N Me, When I Get Free, Until the End of Time (RP Remix) Ehh: Let Em Have It (Remix), Runnin on E I think there is more to enjoy on his previous album. Some of the production doesn't fit here, and the abundance of the poppy moments makes the album fall down. There are still half a dozen or so songs with lots of replay value though, with a number bubbling under. It's worth checking out for fans, but I don't get why they thought three double albums in a row post his death was a good idea. There is too much fat to trim which, in the pre-digital age, would have made listening to this album somewhat of a slog. It's a touch closer to a 3/5 than a 4/5, but I think there are enough good moments to leave it at 3.5/5. Beats: ★★★ Rapping/Bars: ★★★★ Hooks: ★★★☆