You would expect a movie about one of the most rowdy rap group the world has ever known to be crazy from start to finish but Straight Outta Compton is about more than just the groups rise to fame and what they did with it, it's also about their falling out. The first half of the movie does well to show how N.W.A got their start and how their harsh reality led them to create incredible music about their struggles in life. Compton was a hard place to grow up in and what's worse was this was a time period of intense police brutality and prejudice against people of color. But, this wouldn't bond Ice Cube, Eazy-E and Dr. Dre forever and eventually this most influential rap group would go down some even harsher paths.
As I said earlier, the first half of the movie is exactly what you would come to expect from a story about N.W.A. Each member of the rap super group has their own struggles with growing up in Compton and each of them had their own talent to bring to the group as it formed. Ice Cube (played by Ice Cube's actual son, O'Shea Jackson Jr.) and Dr. Dre (Cory Hawkins) were already trying their hardest to have their music be heard as Dre worked the turn table and Ice Cube wrote lyrics and sang vocals. Eazy-E (Jason Mitchell) doesn't come into the picture until the two are at their wits end and are looking to start their own record label, a factor that Eazy-E played a key part in since he supplied the money to have the groups first song with sales from his time as a drug runner. This is where the group finds their voice but also is the point of their ultimate downfall as well as they head out on tour and party like classic rockstars. Girls, guns and booze begin to flow and the team has the time of their lives until the tour comes to an unfortunate end.
The reason behind this being Eazy-E and his dealings with the man who put N.W.A on the map Jerry Heller (Paul Giamatti). Eazy was the first to meet Jerry and founded the bands record label under the banner of Ruthless Records which is initially a wonderful thing until Ice Cube realizes he hasn't been paid for any of the music or sold out concerts that the band has been playing the entire time. Their is an equally shady scene to go along with this once the tour is over and Jerry tries to have everyone in the band sign their contracts after the initial success of the first tour. This proves to be a point that the movie brings up time and time again and that point being that Eazy is the one responsible for getting the group involved with a sketchy guy like Jerry Heller and the downward spiral for the group is centered around that moment. It feels like Eazy-E is left to bare much of the blame throughout the entire movie because of this but in a way you understand why Eazy defends his relationship with Jerry time and time again. He is the man who believed in these kids from Compton and gave them a shot but the rest of the group didn't get the same benefits Eazy did for most of the story.
It's at this point that Straight Outta Compton becomes less of a story about N.W.A and becomes a "Where are they now?" style feature where Ice Cube and Dr. Dre can do no wrong. Ice Cube sets off on his own as soon as the first tour ends and begins his solo rap career that today we know was a huge success but he also goes on to become a writer of his very own movie (Friday) and go on to have a successful acting profession as well. Dr. Dre would be the next to leave the clutches of Jerry Heller once he meets up with a ruthless business enforcer Suge Knight (R. Marcus Taylor). This starts his very profitable career as a record producer as he signs many famous future rap stars such as Snoop Dogg and Tupac before he eventually strikes out on his own official with the label Aftermath and selling his Beats by Dre headphones to Apple.
While there is nothing wrong with this part of the story, as it is all true, it more or less felt like a statement about Ice Cube and Dre being right to leave Jerry and Eazy-E behind because they both achieved great success. Eazy-E and the rest of N.W.A (DJ Yella and MC Ren) quickly fell out of the spotlight and fell on tough times without the two around and eventually Eazy-E would find out all of the hidden truths that Jerry was keeping from him regarding his debt and relationship with him. What makes the finger pointing feel even more obvious are the portions of the movie where Ice Cube and Dr. Dre are shown doing their own screw ups that lead to no real punishment or issues for the two. Ice Cube at one point completely trashes his producers office for not being able to pay for his records success and Dre is seen late in the film driving his Lamborghini at break neck speeds from the cops only to be seen one scene later poolside with his beautiful girlfriend.
Straight Outta Compton starts out on an extremely high note as it depicts the lives and struggles that the most dangerous rap group in the world went through growing up. It also sends a powerful message on police brutality and harassment that occurred against them but everyone around them as well. This is a factor that is still an issue to this day and serves as a good correlation for the events in today's world. The last hour or so of the movie however is where things start to feel like a grind as it shows the success of two of the groups stars without showing too much of the negative aspects of their careers. But, despite this overlong aspect to the movie, it has been quite some time since I've seen a biopic that has captured my attention like this and I was pleased with my N.W.A experience.
As I said earlier, the first half of the movie is exactly what you would come to expect from a story about N.W.A. Each member of the rap super group has their own struggles with growing up in Compton and each of them had their own talent to bring to the group as it formed. Ice Cube (played by Ice Cube's actual son, O'Shea Jackson Jr.) and Dr. Dre (Cory Hawkins) were already trying their hardest to have their music be heard as Dre worked the turn table and Ice Cube wrote lyrics and sang vocals. Eazy-E (Jason Mitchell) doesn't come into the picture until the two are at their wits end and are looking to start their own record label, a factor that Eazy-E played a key part in since he supplied the money to have the groups first song with sales from his time as a drug runner. This is where the group finds their voice but also is the point of their ultimate downfall as well as they head out on tour and party like classic rockstars. Girls, guns and booze begin to flow and the team has the time of their lives until the tour comes to an unfortunate end.
The reason behind this being Eazy-E and his dealings with the man who put N.W.A on the map Jerry Heller (Paul Giamatti). Eazy was the first to meet Jerry and founded the bands record label under the banner of Ruthless Records which is initially a wonderful thing until Ice Cube realizes he hasn't been paid for any of the music or sold out concerts that the band has been playing the entire time. Their is an equally shady scene to go along with this once the tour is over and Jerry tries to have everyone in the band sign their contracts after the initial success of the first tour. This proves to be a point that the movie brings up time and time again and that point being that Eazy is the one responsible for getting the group involved with a sketchy guy like Jerry Heller and the downward spiral for the group is centered around that moment. It feels like Eazy-E is left to bare much of the blame throughout the entire movie because of this but in a way you understand why Eazy defends his relationship with Jerry time and time again. He is the man who believed in these kids from Compton and gave them a shot but the rest of the group didn't get the same benefits Eazy did for most of the story.
It's at this point that Straight Outta Compton becomes less of a story about N.W.A and becomes a "Where are they now?" style feature where Ice Cube and Dr. Dre can do no wrong. Ice Cube sets off on his own as soon as the first tour ends and begins his solo rap career that today we know was a huge success but he also goes on to become a writer of his very own movie (Friday) and go on to have a successful acting profession as well. Dr. Dre would be the next to leave the clutches of Jerry Heller once he meets up with a ruthless business enforcer Suge Knight (R. Marcus Taylor). This starts his very profitable career as a record producer as he signs many famous future rap stars such as Snoop Dogg and Tupac before he eventually strikes out on his own official with the label Aftermath and selling his Beats by Dre headphones to Apple.
While there is nothing wrong with this part of the story, as it is all true, it more or less felt like a statement about Ice Cube and Dre being right to leave Jerry and Eazy-E behind because they both achieved great success. Eazy-E and the rest of N.W.A (DJ Yella and MC Ren) quickly fell out of the spotlight and fell on tough times without the two around and eventually Eazy-E would find out all of the hidden truths that Jerry was keeping from him regarding his debt and relationship with him. What makes the finger pointing feel even more obvious are the portions of the movie where Ice Cube and Dr. Dre are shown doing their own screw ups that lead to no real punishment or issues for the two. Ice Cube at one point completely trashes his producers office for not being able to pay for his records success and Dre is seen late in the film driving his Lamborghini at break neck speeds from the cops only to be seen one scene later poolside with his beautiful girlfriend.
Straight Outta Compton starts out on an extremely high note as it depicts the lives and struggles that the most dangerous rap group in the world went through growing up. It also sends a powerful message on police brutality and harassment that occurred against them but everyone around them as well. This is a factor that is still an issue to this day and serves as a good correlation for the events in today's world. The last hour or so of the movie however is where things start to feel like a grind as it shows the success of two of the groups stars without showing too much of the negative aspects of their careers. But, despite this overlong aspect to the movie, it has been quite some time since I've seen a biopic that has captured my attention like this and I was pleased with my N.W.A experience.
Good:
- Incredible music performances throughout the movie
- Ice Cube, Dr. Dre and Easy-E were all brilliant
- The enlightening look into police brutality during this era
Bad:
- Ice Cube and Dr. Dre seemingly could do no wrong
- The slower paced and overlong second half
Scully Rating: 7.0 out of 10
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