A solid look at one of the most influential music groups in modern history

Rating: 8/10 (23 August 2015)

Anyone who knows anything about hip hop knows the influence and importance of NWA. Even today, Dr. Dre and Ice Cube are still some of the most well-known rappers in the game. I suppose that it was almost inevitable that a movie of this type would come out, and after watching it I can say it definitely doesn't disappoint.
For those who don't know, Straight Outta Compton is the story of NWA, an immensely influential hip hop group consisting of Ice Cube (O'Shea Jackson, Jr), Dr. Dre (Corey Hawkins), MC Ren (Aldis Hodge), Eazy-E (Jason Mitchell), and DJ Yella (Neil Brown, Jr). The first half of the film chronicles the group's formation from the streets of Compton. The second half shows their eventual falling out, the starts of their solo careers, and Eazy-E's death from AIDS. Personally, I think the first half is the better of the two. You can almost feel the anger of each group member pulsing off the screen directed at racist police, lack of opportunity, and society in general. However, the last half loses a lot of steam. Once the group has broken up, the films changes from a grand statement to more of a "where are they know?" approach. We see the beginnings of Ice Cube and Dr. Dre's solo careers and Eazy-E's struggles of making it solo. At this point in the film, MC Ren and DJ Yella are more or less forgotten, sidelined to focus on their more famous counterparts.
Cast wise, there are certainly some great performances. Paul Giamatti adeptly portrays NWA's crooked manager Jerry Heller. O'Shea Jackson, Jr. bears a striking resemblance to his father, and gives a strong performance. The best of the bunch, however, is probably Neil Mitchell as Eazy-E, who does a great job of portraying his inner turmoil. Corey Hawkins seems a bit miscast as Dr. Dre, but still does a good enough job of portraying him.
Reading through some other reviews on IMDb, it seems like these reviews were hijacked by some sort of Baptist church or something. There is no "explicit sex" in the movie. The most shown are bare breasts, but it really wasn't anything noticeably more graphic than any other R movie. Also, it shouldn't surprise anyone that NWA would have parties with lots of naked women. I mean, it's not like they were ever shy about rapping about all the women they got. Other reviews call them "terrible role models" and "thugs". OK, the movie never tries to act like they're good role models. And the people calling them "thugs" and "gangsters" seem to be referring to the fact that they grew up in South Central and Compton. Oh well, the movie isn't for everyone.
There are definitely some issues with the film. As touched upon earlier, the second half of the film doesn't replicate the energy of the first. In addition, it becomes pretty clear that Dr. Dre and Ice Cube are the ones producing the film, as they, along with Eazy-E take up virtually all of the screen time while MC Ren and DJ Yella are delegated to standing in the background for most of the film, even though MC Ren was a larger factor in NWA's success than Dre, who really came into his own after he went solo. In fact, once the group break up MC Ren and Yella aren't even seen for at least an hour, only reappearing once the group reassembles, coming back into the fold with no explanation of what they've been doing or why they came back. Another member of NWA, Arabian Prince, stands in the background for about 5 minutes before disappearing altogether with no mention of who he was or why he left the group. While he did leave before the group became successful, his face is still on the cover of the Straight Outta Compton album yet gets less screen time than Snoop Dogg and Tupac, who weren't even part of NWA. Dr. Dre rides his high horse the whole movie. The director makes sure to show him standing up to Suge Knight's evil, but seems to forget the allegations of abuse directed toward him. Ice Cube is similarly portrayed as never doing wrong. Eazy-E is the only character shown to have flaws, which makes him the most interesting character in the group, and is portrayed in a more sympathetic light. Ren and Yella don't really have any development to speak of. Also, the movie makes sure to not address the often homophobic and misogynistic lyrics of NWA's music, instead making it seem like their lyrics are completely innocuous, with everyone taking offense to them being in the wrong.
Criticisms aside, this movie is certainly one worth watching if you are a fan of NWA, hip hop, or even music in general. If you are easily offended by language, or hate rappers just because they're rappers, make sure to avoid this movie. If you are interested in learning more about the World's Most Dangerous Group, this movie is a must watch.