Movie Muser

First and foremost, if you are a fan of NWA, Dr Dre, Ice Cube, Easy E or West Coast hip hop between the late eighties and early noughties then go and see this film regardless of what I say, and make sure the cinema has a good sound system!

Straight Outta Compton tells the story of Dj Yella, Dr Dre, Easy E, Ice Cube and MC Ren: 5 young men who grew up in the tough city of Compton in the late 80s. They band together to form NWA, one of Americas most infamous, influential and controversial rap groups, and this film chronicles their rise from the streets through to how success fractured their relationships with each other as the business side of things took over.

You may or may not know who NWA were but their impact on hip hop was huge. However, you would have heard of Dr Dre and how he is now the richest rapper alive thank to a certain brand of headphones and a deal with a certain technology company.

To give him credit he has a great mind for business and incidentally you can buy limited edition ‘Straight Outta Compton’ headphones and can only obtain his latest album (which isn’t a touch on 2001 (1999)) via said certain technology company.

Music biopics can be hit or miss in my opinion, which is one of the reasons why I chose to review this film. Many of them are similar in structure and beats (no pun intended), and although the likes of Walk the Line (2005), Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll (2010) and Ray (2004) were great, they are also kind of forgettable and I rarely revisit films of this genre.

8 Mile (2002) made it clear that it was not a retelling of Eminem’s story and this set it apart from other biopics, and the term ‘based on a true story’ should always be taken with a huge pinch of salt.

The first half of this film is a thoroughly enjoyable rags-to-riches story of the beginnings of NWA, which is reminiscent of Boyz n the Hood (1991) as we have young men from the ghetto involved in gangs, guns, poverty, racism, and police brutality. We have seen this all before in other ‘urban dramas’ but for me it was great to see each individual member’s story and how they connected through music.

Their first record is pressed by Jerry Heller (Paul Giamatti, being great as always) who then becomes their manager and gets them signed. We have wild parties, the recording of the titular album and are taken on a fun ride as they tour it.

The second half changes tack and plays out more like a business drama, focusing on the group’s frayed relationships over contracts and, as a result, the birth of their solo projects. We get an insight into the music industry in which greed and wealth is worth more than friendships, but it was made clear from the start that some of them were only in it for the money.

This half focuses more on Easy E, Ice Cube and Dr Dre’s stories and is great if you are a fan of hip hop, but almost completely forgets about Dj Yella and MC Ren. It has cameo rappers such as 2 Pac, a hilarious Snoop Dogg and a menacing Suge Knight, but unfortunately doesn’t keep up with the pace of the first half and loses focus.

It ends with the death of Easy E (no real spoiler here) but concludes with an excellent ‘legacy’ montage over the booming closing credits. It leaves you with the feeling that it only told you part of the story. I would like to see a semi sequel that deals with East Coast rappers of the same era leading up to Biggie and 2 Pac, and to me this seems like a realistic option as this movie has made a lot of money on a small budget. Add this to the box office revenues of Jurassic World, Furious 7 and Minions, Universal have had a very successful summer.

The film is confidently directed by F. Gary Gray and as expected some shots and scenes are straight out of hip hop videos, complete with slow-motion, lens flare, lowriders, girls and plenty of bling. The cinematography and editing is what you’d expect and fit this movie perfectly.

The young cast are all great, O’Shea Jackson Jr’s portrayal of Ice Cube is spot on and I’m sure that they will all go far as long as they are not typecast.

Like a lot of biopics it glosses over the dirt and Dr Dre and Ice Cube are portrayed in a strong, charismatic and positive light. No surprise as they have produced this film, but there have been some resurfacing stories about their pasts in recent weeks.

However this film is meant to be the story of five guys who wanted more from themselves and they got it through hard work, ups and downs and frayed loyalties. It touches on social issues like bad neighbourhoods, police abusing their powers, the Rodney King beating and subsequent LA riots: but some of these issues should have been expanded on.

I am a fan of the music and this film was great at painting a picture of what happened, but at the end of the day it is a Hollywood retelling of the truth. Film is meant to be entertaining and this film surely is, but some of the characters and their motivations are flat and the film loses its pace towards the end. Certain scenes should have been omitted as they are never expanded upon later and the latter half just seems to focus on how great Dr Dre and Ice Cube are (which I do not doubt) and the tragic loss of Easy E.

But as a film I must judge it as such. It is true that it is one of the best music biopics of recent years but it has its faults. It comfortably fits between a 3 and a 4, but I must be critical and not increase its rating due to my nostalgic love of the music.

Overall Verdict: A thoroughly entertaining film with a great cast and soundtrack which sometimes tries to be bigger than it is, and as such leaves a lot of loose ends. There are so many good things about this film it’s unfortunate it loses its focus, but ultimately is one of the best music biopics of recent years.

Reviewer: George Elcombe