Reincarnated

You don’t have to be ‘street’ to appreciate Reincarnated, Andy Capper’s documentary about Snoop Dogg travelling to Jamaica to record reggae music. Interesting characters, redemption stories, beautiful settings, great music – these are the ingredients of great documentary.

Unfortunately Capper treats these things only as garnish on a big weed salad, and sadly I wasn’t high. As everyone on camera smokes a seemingly endless supply of pot, interviews provide a shallow wade in the murky waters of Snoop’s past, including his involvement in gangs and his bizarrely media-endorsed career as a pimp.
He hazily recalls his crime-fuelled upbringing in Long Beach, the death of friend Nate Dogg, feuds with other musicians and, most poignantly, the killing of Tupac Shakur.
Despite Snoop’s supposed desire to turn over a positive leaf, any insight, in-depth examination or regret is hidden behind a thick cloud of ganja smoke. As Snoop explores Kingston and Trenchtown on his pseudo-spiritual pilgrimage, he aims for gravitas and spiritual connection.
To do so he meets Bob Marley’s son Damien and charismatic reggae statesman Bunny Wailer, who touchingly rechristens him ‘Snoop Lion.’ However, with his trips to mountainside pot plantations, he reveals himself to be just another self-indulgent tourist.
Literally a “puff piece”, the dull and lightweight Reincarnated is a movie for stoners about stoners.