Great movie, even if you're not into hip-hop or rap

Rating: 8/10 (5 September 2015)

Great movie, even if you're not into hip-hop or rap (and I generally am not).
The true story of the hip-hop / rap band NWA who emerged from the mean streets of Compton in Los Angeles to be the voice of African- Americans living on the wrong side of the tracks.
Much more than just a movie about a hip-hop / rap, but a movie about social injustice and police brutality. At the very least it can be taken as an example of the rise, fall and aftermath of a band, and the pluses and minuses of the music industry, especially its seedy side.
Good performances from O'Shea Jackson Jr, playing Ice Cube, his father, Corey Hawkins as Dr Dre, Jason Mitchell as Eazy-E and Paul Giamatti as Jerry Heller, NWA's manager. Solid supporting cast.
Not perfect though: the movie does drift in the latter third or so. It's as if the writers and director didn't know when to end it, or at least know how to compress the post-breakup era into something succinct and engaging. I realise that the story of Eazy-E had to be told, but there surely must have been a quicker and/or more engaging way to tell that part of the story.