Boyz n Da Hood meets 8 Mile.. A Modern Classic.

Rating: 9/10 (28 August 2015)

Straight Outta Compton is the story of N.W.A, a group of 5 men growing up in Compton and the struggle they face with the police as well as their rise to fame and how they influenced the world. As controversial as the group is, they have inspired many including myself, this film is a perfect reflection of that.
From the beginning we get a glimpse into how the police treated these people because of their skin colour. This was a very real thing and the film does a perfect job at showing this, to an almost shocking degree. First off,the cast is perfect. O'Shea Jackson shines in particular. He plays Ice Cube and is actually his son in real life. It can't be easy playing your father, but he makes it seem that way. His mannerisms and look are just brilliant, it is almost as if we are seeing Ice Cube himself. Dr. Dre and Eazy-E are also played brilliantly and i could not see anyone doing a better job. This film is very much based around those three members of NWA, whilst DJ Yella and MC Ren do have parts to play it was a bit odd that they didn't get nearly enough screen time as Cube, Dre and E. Paul Giamatti also appears as manager of NWA Jerry Heller. I'm not entirely sure how accurate his role was in the movie but Paul Giamatti does great at being part caring manager, part corporate douchebag.
Around the third act the film slows down in pace as it shows us the fall of NWA and the feud with Ice Cube. Where many people saw this as a flaw, i was as entertained with this portion of the film as i was with the rest of it. We start to see how the members of the group are dealing with their own personal issues, so as a result we get a good look behind the scenes of the glamour and music as well as the personal lives of people we thought we knew. For example, we get to see Ice Cube writing the script for Friday which shows how he is moving on from NWA. A character in the film talks about how NWA is glamorising drugs and violence, as producers Ice Cube and Dr. Dre do brilliantly at showing us how this wasn't the case. You can really see in the writing that they are passionate about this story.
Overall, Straight Outta Compton is one of the gems of the year. The soundtrack is brilliant and had me rapping along to the lyrics on more than one occasion. It made me laugh, it made me tear up at points and in a way it really inspired me to be what i want to be. I highly recommend this film to absolutely anyone who will listen. It demands to be seen in cinemas and is one i will most definitely be buying on blu-ray. One of 2015's best movies and that is no exaggeration. Time to go home and blast out the old NWA records.
9.5/10