The biopic of the pioneers of gangsta rap is out and it’s on fire. The movie features N.W.A.’s history, along with that of others whom had a role in it. It is actually one of the more accurate biopics made. The fact is, N.W.A.’s history is ripe with action without a need to exaggerate. The film also gives Hip Hop fans who were not around during the late 80’s and early 90’s a peak into how it got here. “Straight Outta Compton” is packed with events that actually took place in each artist’s life.
First, let’s address the elephant in the room. O’Shea Jackson Jr., Ice Cube’s son rocked as his father. He played his father’s role and made it very believable. Corey Hawkins as Dr. Dre was decent, Jason Mitchell played a great Eazy-E, and the rest of the actors were pretty good as well. R. Marcos Taylor, although looks nothing like Suge Knight, played the hell out of the role. Paul Giamatti showed us why everybody hated Jerry Heller, yet Eazy-E loved him so much. Most of the actors didn’t really look like their real-life counterparts, but most of the acting was so great, you can forgive that.
Furthermore, the realism in this film stands out. There weren’t actors over-acting which, given the fact that almost all of the cast in “Straight Outta Compton” are not veteran thespians, is a feat. The scenes are realistic, as are the events chronicled in the movie. Since N.W.A. led a career packed with action, there was no need to invent things to make it more interesting. Everything that happened in this movie correlated with each other, and there aren’t many loose ends to tie up.
What’s wrong with the film, which is not that much, is the chronology. Tupac should not have been introduced before Bone Thug-and-Harmony. Much less recording “Hail Mary.” The movie also didn’t go into the releases of Niggaz 4 Life and 100 Miles and Runnin’. You can’t put everything in a movie, but you would think more could have been covered about the first EP after Ice Cube left, and the last album they released as a group. Other than that, this film is excellent.
On a scale from 1 to 10, “Straight Outta Compton” deserves a 10, with 10 being the best. The movie gets great marks in accuracy, acting, action, and it’s overall composition. Many biopics have fallen short of greatness due to made-up characters, poor acting, over-acting, or plain bad arrangement of scenes. The way the film was directed, you would perceive it was done by one of Hollywood’s elite, which is not the case. F. Gary Gray took the helm of this film and made it top quality.
