Straight Outta Compton Movie Review

Authorities were sure that the opening night of Straight Outta Compton would involve burning cars, yelling youth, and utter mayhem. While the events on screen were these things and more, the seats of most movie goers stayed warm, no one wanting to miss in infamous moment or historical rhyme.

Straight Outta Compton is the tales of NWA, a Compton born rap group made up of the legendary Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Dj Yella, MC Ren, and the late Eazy-E. While many of us know these men as the originators of gangsta rap, Straight Outta Compton sheds light on their personalities, their strife’s growing up in one of the most dangerous cities in America in the 80s, and their ultimate rise to epic success.

The film stars fresh faces in Hollywood as its lead characters including Ice Cube’s son, O’Shea Jackson Jr. as himself, Corey Hawkins (Dr. Dre), Jason Mitchell (Eazy-E), Neil Brown Jr. (Dj Yella), and Aldis Hodge (MC Ren).

The film is reminiscent of a time that most millennials aren’t familiar with but resonate with considering what has happened in cities such as Ferguson and Baltimore.

For someone who is extremely familiar with many of the artists portrayed in the film it was a delight to go back in time and see such an iconic moment in history unfold. Straight Outta Compton is intriguing, wittingly funny, and emotionally daring.

Straight Outta Compton was intricately planned out and it show son screen. The involvement of the real members of NWA makes the film shine that much more and thankfully so because I don’t think the world could have taken another failed biopic, i.e Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B, which aired on Lifetime last year to terrible backlash from Aaliyah’s family, friends, and overall fans.

Straight Outta Compton wasn’t generic in the slightest which is what I think will have people talking about it well after they leave the theater. Getting to see NWA’s start and the start of hip hop’s two biggest and richest men is such a different experience that it’s hard to compare it to anything. Even moments in the film Notorious couldn’t compare to the experience of watching the young Ice Cube reference the widely popular “Bye Felicia” slogan that swept pop culture this year in a time when he hadn’t even written Friday yet. Could this have been the moment Ice Cube began his creation of the infamous cult classic? It could be and the thought is sweet, just like many other moments in the film.

Lastly, we are given a few appearances by a young Snoop Dog, Tupac, and Chuck D which unfortunately aren’t entirely well casted but their roles are so tiny it doesn’t hinder the movie at all.

In the end, Straight Outta Compton is a must see. Even if you aren’t familiar with NWA, or don’t even care for rap music, it’s just an overall well executed film.