As a child in the 80's and 90's I was too young to know exactly who N.W.A. was, or at least I thought I was. As I was watching Straight Outta Compton I recognized several events in the film. I remember seeing N.W.A.'s first album cover, hearing several songs like "Fuck the Police", and listening to Dr. Dre's "Chronic" album. I was surprised how much about N.W.A. I knew, but I think this movie was made so that everyone could know more.
Directed by F. Gary Gray (the man who gave us Friday), this film is about the rise and fall of a hip hop group that influenced the country in the late 80's and early 90's. Their were five members in the group, but Dj Yella and MC Ren take a back seat as the focus of the film gets handed off between Easy-E, Dr. Dre, and Ice Cube. At the height of their popularity Ice Cube splits off from N.W.A. because of his differences with Easy-E. Meanwhile, Dr. Dre is also being lured away from the group as he gets tired of the gangsta life style and just wants to make music. However, when tragedy strikes one of their own all the members of the group once known as N.W.A. must try and forgive each other before it's too late.
The only actors in this movie I recognize is Aldis Hodge as MC Ren and Paul Giamotti and N.W.A.'s manager, Jerry Heller. Giamotti didn't phone his performance in like some of his recent jobs, but it still wasn't near what his potential is. I was a bit skeptical of Ice Cube's son playing his father in this film. I was worried he was just another child of a famous star who gets the breaks other hard working actors in Showbiz spend years trying to get. But O'Shea Jackson Jr. was pretty good at playing his dad. The resemblance is uncanny. The rest of the cast didn't do a bad job either, but nothing outstanding or memorable.
With a running time of 147 minutes the film left me wishing it would have ended closer to 127 minutes. It drags on a bit at the end. The movie covers almost a decade with these characters so some events are cut to just one scene and then never explored later on. I wished it would have been more focused on a certain point in time, and also on a certain character. I couldn't tell who's perspective I was supposed to be witnessing these events through. Though I think the front runner is Dr. Dre.
While the film did show a few times N.W.A. acted aggressively I imagine it left quite a bit out. I'm always cautious about biographic movies that first have to sanctioned by the person or their family. I never feel like we get all sides of the character(s), or the reality of their lives. Dre was portrayed in this film as the most straight-laced member of the group, but one line of dialogue tries to pivot the time he beat up a journalist in the early 90's.
Of course the most enjoyable part of this movie was all the references. From Ice Cube writing Friday in his living room, to the brief appearances by Snoop Dogg and 2Pac, this film flashes back to a lot of things I had stored in the back of my mind from my youth. While the movie may go on a tad too long I hear the director's cut is three hours long. But I enjoyed seeing an inside look at the lives of these famous musicians whose songs I still listen too. I can't tell you how much "California Love" still gets me amp'd. Also, the last line of the movie is terrific. "Yo Dre, what're you gonna call it?" "Aftermath." I remember buying that album the week it came out!
RATING: C+
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