The moment I heard they were making a film about N.W.A., I knew I had to see it. Like many, I didn’t listen to their music during their height of their popularity. Unlike many, I am willing to admit that. But it doesn’t mean that their music didn’t influence me in significant ways when I was in my teens. So naturally, I was excited about this movie. I only wish it would have lived up to my expectations.
Straight Outta Compton tells the story of N.W.A.’s formation, but it’s more than just that. It tells of the trials and tribulations the members of the group went through to become the icons they were. It tells of both the struggle with their oppressors, as well as each other. We start the film in 1986 with an introduction to the three main guys that everyone knows: Eazy-E (Jason Mitchell), Dr. Dre (Corey Hawkings) and Ice Cube (O’Shea Jackson, Jr.). They soon form Ruthless records putting out their first single, which gets the attention of Jerry Heller (Paul Giamatti), their future manager. The movie then tells of their rise to stardom, and ultimate falling out, all the way through to the passing of Eazy-E.
Straight Outta Compton sets out to do a lot of things, some of which it doesn’t get exactly right. Don’t get me wrong, the movie is good. It just felt… unnatural at times. The actors themselves did a great job portraying the real-life people they were representing, but I don’t think they had the chemistry as an ensemble. I noticed it really early on in the movie, when Ice Cube and Dr. Dre were at Dre’ aunt’s house. The flow of the conversation just didn’t feel comfortable. It didn’t feel like the natural conversations I had with my friends when I was around the same age, as they were putting clear distance (time) between each of the character’s lines, just so you can make out what they were saying. And Hawkings and Jackson, Jr. just seemed really awkward in delivering their lines to each other. I know that this is needed often in movies, but I have seen similar scenes in other movies where I didn’t have this feeling.
There were also many things that the movie put into your face, but then didn’t really finish telling you what it was about, or make you believe in the connection. For example, the movie starts with Dre having a girl and baby, and you see her for all of 10 seconds, and then you see her a little later when she is leaving him. Dre also has very minimal time with his brother in the beginning of the film, again a short time later they interact for a few moments on screen (over the phone), and then there is supposed to be a moving scene where Dre finds out his brother was killed. I say supposed to be because as with the film where Dre’s girl left him, you are supposed to feel something for the character here, but there wasn’t enough for you to go on. There wasn’t the emotional connection to the relationship between Dre and his girl/brother for you to feel connected to the movie and character. These are just a few examples, another could be a menacing threat to Jerry Heller at his home, but the movie never really wraps back around to it. Most people are supposed to know, or maybe you are supposed to infer from the plotline at the time, but it seemed a little abrupt to me. Now, I hear that the running time of this film, 147 minutes, is actually a far cry from the original 210 minutes. This could explain a lot of where I felt the film just kind of failed at follow through. Hopefully we get to see this on the home release.
Ultimately, this was a great movie. It was amazing to sit in the theater and listen to people sing along with the iconic songs that were released not only from the super group themselves, but even from Eazy-E, Ice Cube and others. Plus, there were many great easter eggs throughout the film, including appearances of the characters Snoop Dogg, Tupac, Warren G, Suge Knight and many others. There was plenty of humor, but still managing to portray the struggle they went through well. One of things I was worried about was O’Shea Jackson, Jr. I originally thought they only cast him as his father because of the looks, but he really did hold his own. I definitely see a future in acting, and possibly in music too, just like his father.
Should you go see it in theaters? If you are a super fan, then definitely. Even if you are not, definitely check it out as it tells a great story about what was considered at one point the most dangerous group in music. This is definitely one that will be added to my collection upon home release, especially if there is an uncut version.
3.5 stars out of 5
By Jeremiah
Straight Outta Compton is the rags to riches story of the most talented and notorious rap group in the history of hip hop. A very raw, honest tale about rising up against the man and from the streets of Compton – this could be said of both, their music and the movie about the late 80s/early 90s rap group N.W.A.
As a fan of N.W.A. one of the biggest thrills for me was seeing how committed the movie was to trying to emulate the visual appearance of the famous individuals portrayed in this movie and it was THE most debated subject after the movie ended with the other N.W.A. fans I viewed the movie with. Straight Outta Compton features a slew of unknown actors that appear to have been selected as much for their likenesses to the original members as they were for their raw acting talent.
O’Shea Jackson Jr. plays the role of his father Ice Cube with such an uncanny resemblance your brain just accepts O’Shea as Cube almost immediately. Dre is played by Corey Hawkins who probably should have put on another 20-30lbs to sell us on playing the greatest music producer of all time. But Hawkins acting felt authentic, which quickly got me over the fact that he didn’t look exactly like Dre after the first 10 to 15 minutes and I ended up really enjoying his performance throughout.
There were several very enjoyable “character cameos” that got the audience buzzing, with no actual cameos thankfully, as a real cameo would have totally taken you out of the movie. Suge Knight makes several appearances played by Marcos Taylor, who pulls it off because of his presence and menacing look, but I couldn’t help but think that he was a little small to play the MONSTER that is Suge Knight.
Other famous character appearances are made by Warren G, Snoop Dogg (who is about a full foot too short), and a VERY believable Tupac played by Marcc Rose. Look up his IMDB page photo and you can see how easy it was to pick that guy to play a young Tupac. We joked around after the movie that they actually just called Tupac (who is not dead) to just come in and play himself in the movie as a joke.
Of all the performances in the movie I enjoyed Jason Mitchell’s the most as the late great Eric Wright aka Eazy-E. He had that perfect balance of reckless juvenile attitude and fearless (sometimes comically reluctant) lyrical super hero that we all believed the real Eazy-E to be and added the vulnerable human aspect that we all hoped existed but never got to see.
The infectious personality of Eazy, the blooming master artist that is Dre and the revolutionary that is Cube were executed perfectly in this movie in spite of the lack of acting resume and in the face of a solid performance by the experienced character actor, Paul Giamatti. I was really worried about the unknown cast going in, but left very pleased with the result and hope to see more from Mitchell, Hawkins and O’Shea in the future.
Obviously the music was AMAZING in this film, playing like a greatest hits album from my childhood and the look and feel of the movie felt legitimate and that is in large part to the dedicated vision of F. Gary Gray who also directed Friday, The Negotiator and of course the video short Murder Was the Case: The Movie, which is like the 90’s gangster rap theme song for the ages.
Note: If you are new to this era/music and want some more historical background for the feeling of that time watch Boyz N The Hood, Menace II Society and Juice.
In the end I would recommend this movie to ANYONE who enjoys a good story, revolutionary music and can handle an unhealthy dose of early 90s misogyny.
5 out of 5 stars. Go see it!
