Great acting, good story and incredible beats.
Straight Outta Compton is a biography following rappers Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, DJ Yella and MC Ren, who form a group called NWA during the rise of rap in the 1980s.
It seemlessly merges the lives of these characters with the rap music they create as they navigate through racial tensions, bad business decisions and internal strife.
From the moment it begins, the story feels so authentic as if plucked from that period in time. There’s a scene near the start where Dr. Dre leaves home with a carton of records. He places one in and it wasn’t just any record…
It was from The Sugarhill Gang, whose “Rapper’s Delight” was the song that took America by storm and started the hip-hop explosion. I thought this was a great touch and nod.
The focus is mainly on Dr. Dre, Ice Cube and Eazy-E. Their lives surrounded by gangs and drugs as they strive to follow their dreams and better themselves. They take that leap and work together to form a label. All the while, they are hounded by the police even when they are taking a harmless break outside of the studio.
They hook up with Jerry Heller, who manages them and helps get their name out by finding a producer. They become famous, make records and sell out tours.
But problems ensue. Contracts and dealing become a problem and friendships are strained.
The journey is interesting to watch and we root for them. It offers us a look into how record deals are not always what you want them to be.
The acting was so good. It was like watching these guys in real life. Ice Cube was played by his son and he really got all the mannerisms down to a tee. It was uncanny.
And it was cool to watch other rappers pop up in the movie with some rhymes to boot. Straight Outta Compton had me bopping my head. And even if you’re not a fan of rap music, the story stands on its own with heart felt moments and great character relationships, be it good or bad.
There was never a boring moment. Though, the final act played out a bit different from the rest. The first three quarters was more about the group and their goals. While the last part focused more on the individual aspect.
But I thought it was good all the way through.
Score: 8.5/10
