Film synopsis
In 1987, five young guys from Compton formed a hip hop group called N.W.A. They dropped some great beats and honest rhymes, but unfortunately, their rhymes were not received well by authorities. However, they stood up to authorities and revolutionized the hip hop world.
My thoughts on the film
I was born in 1987, so it’s fair to say I didn’t grow up listening to N.W.A. and other hip hop phenomenons, but I did have 2 older brothers who were in high school at that time and one of them had a cassette collection which grew into a CD collection like you couldn’t imagine. He was the one who really got me into hip hop as I was growing up, but fortunately for you, the reader, I’ll end my life story here. It’s fair to say I was pumped for Straight Outta Compton when the trailer was released and so were a lot of other people. I even had an elderly lady approach me asking if I had an extra ticket. It’s too bad I didn’t though, because she missed one heck of a film.
Straight Outta Compton stars Corey Hawkins as Dr. Dre, Jason Mitchell as Easy-E, Neil Brown Jr. as DJ Yella, Aldis Hodge as MC Ren and Ice Cube‘s son, O’Shea Jackson Jr. playing his dad, O’Shea Jackson, “Ice Cube”. Boy, did he look exactly like his dad. I also have to point out that the others did look remarkably close to who they were resembling and for a cast that has had limited roles in films/television shows, they were all great.
From beginning to end, there is a ton of history behind N.W.A. and there is no way they would be able to fit it all in the film, even if it is close to two-and-a-half hours long. Unfortunately, that’s the issue with Straight Outta Compton. A lot of characters pop up with no storyline, some storylines are skimmed through and if you’re someone watching the film with no recollection of the history and it’s just another film to you, you’ll be a tad disappointed with the film. With that being said, as a viewer, you’ll just need to accept it and go with the flow because really, that’s the only issue with the film. The tone of the film is perfectly set from the get-go. The soundtrack is great and overall, they did a really good job not making it feel like a documentary and making it feel like just a film.
Rating 4.5/5
Straight Outta Compton might have a storyline that jumps around, but it does a good job making it a minor issue in an overall, intriguing and entertaining film.
Straight Outta Compton is in theatres tomorrow, August 14.
