Straight Outta Comptonqstraight Outta Compton Funny Movie Sceen
THE STRENGTH OF STREET KNOWLEDGE
Warning: Spoilers
This film documents the history of N.W.A. (N-word With Attitude) from before its inception in 1986 up until the death of Eazy-E (Jason Mitchell) of aids. We see them as kids who "want the best for me" and reject society. They consider themselves journalist because they report on what is going on outside their door, expressing frustration in explicit and provoking language known as "gangsta rap". The film covers the splitting up of the group, the highlights and the low-lights. O'Shea Jackson Jr. did an excellent job playing Ice Cube, most likely better than Ice Cube could have done himself, if you have ever seen him act. The film made me wonder who was the most Ruthless, the rappers, the police, or the record company. They could have named this film "Ruthless." This is the story behind the lyrics. It was well done, but may not be topical for a lot of viewers.
Guide: F-bomb, sex, nudity. Bye Felicia.
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excellent movie
First of all, I am a white man, 58 years old. opinions will always vary on quality of movies, but I am shocked at many of the comments/reviews I've seen for soc (straight outta Compton). To say one needs to know ebonics and ridiculous things such as that........is racist. I was shocked at how good the acting was. Oshea Jackson was the weak link in my opinion; but paul giamatti, and the guy who portrayed easy-e were amazing. I was prepared for a typical bio (especially music bios) where the story is way ahead of the acting. Guy playing dre was excellent as well. So I was pleasantly surprised. This is an outstanding movie. One need not have knowledge of the hip hop culture/industry, any more than one needs to know about southern America to watch and appreciate steel magnolias or fried green tomatoes (ok,, I'm dating myself here). I don't like the sound of u.s. southern accents, but that doesn't mean those flicks are not great. So please. To the point that many like to mention about the vulgarity: it was real life depiction! movies about 1600 England have a certain dialect. Same with this. people in different parts of the u.s. speak very differently. This should not be a drawback, but rather a very realistic telling of what happened. Open your minds, not everything is Ellen and Seinfeld. I have lived in l.a. since 1982 and I found it to be very interesting on many levels. Great writing, directing and acting. If it is very very odd for you, then perhaps you'll learn something watching it. I highly recommend this film.
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A great movie
When reading other reviews about this movie, I really get frustrated due to the lack of understanding about what this movie is really about. A lot of empty reviews only giving 1 star due to "explicit sexual content, and black men who does not respect the law".
What people does not seem to understand is that this is a movie about the rise, and fall of the biggest rap group ever, how they evolved and what power, money, and fame can to a man (and in this case, his relationship to his friends). As much as anything, this movie really is a lot about the abuse that a lot of black males experienced from the police in the 80's (which is still a very relevant topic).
Personally I am a big fan of N.W.A, without that being the reason I am rating this movie 9/10. It is a really interesting true story about some of THE great rap artists of our generation. Great performances by actors who looks a lot like the original group, as well as Paul Giamatti. Great directing, the movie has a really nice action curve, keeping things interesting throughout the movie, and really gives the public a good insight of the life of some of the biggest stars in the world during the 80's/90's.
This is the first time i have ever written an review on IMDb, even though I have a lot of strong opinions about movies, but I really had to come to this movies defence. This is one of those movies I am really expecting to see a 8,3 star rating or something similar, and it really frustrates me to see a lot of people giving this movie unnecessary hate. GREAT MOVIE, if you like N.W.A, it is really worth your while, and if you are not, it is still worth a watch just because of the really intriguing true story that "Straight Out Of Compton" is.
9/10 movie
11/10 will watch again
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Go in walkin', but leave stompin'
Even as a white kid from suburbia, I remember being exposed to the exhilarating and raucous sound of N.W.A. when I was four or five. My mother would play one of her brother's personally mixed CDs, filled with novelty songs, parodies, and vulgar rap songs I probably shouldn't have been heard at such a tender age, in car rides with me. Songs like "Straight Outta Compton" and "F*** the Police" were ingrained in my head, and I remember especially finding telling social relevance in the line, "searchin' my car, lookin' for the product - thinking' every n**** is sellin' narcotics" from the latter song despite being so young.
I may not have ever experienced racial injustice in my life, but I was at least aware of racial double standards at a young age. With that, one of the purposes of F. Gary Gray's biopic on the acclaimed, pioneering rap group N.W.A. is to get us angry at the injustice that occurred in the 1980's and 1990's and remind us that this kind of hate still frighteningly occurs today. It hits us in the face and stomps on the audience hard, as if its strapped with brass knuckles and decked out in the latest Nikes, portraying the race relations in Los Angeles as they were - ugly and disgraceful.
This portrayal only fits that of N.W.A.'s music and character. Comprised of five talented, street-smart young men, N.W.A. was a rap group predicated on detailing their harsh reality and controversial opinions in a brutally honest manner. Featuring the lyrical talents of Ice Cube (O'Shea Jackson, Jr., son of Ice Cube and a spitting image of his father), Dr. Dre (Corey Hawkins), and Eazy-E (Jason Mitchell), in addition to the lyrical and producing talents of MC Ren (Aldis Hodge) and DJ Yella (Neil Brown, Jr.), N.W.A. went from a Compton area bunch to a nationwide supergroup in what seemed to be overnight. Armed with the guidance of acclaimed music producer Jerry Heller (Paul Giamatti) and their desire to rap the truth and the strength of street knowledge, "Straight Outta Compton" details the rise of the group in addition to subsequent beefs, contract battles, and multiple tragedies that faced the talented young men in their prime.
F. Gary Gray directs this film with complete conviction. He and writers Jonathan Herman and Andrea Berloff work to capture the major events in N.W.A. in a manner that, while all-encompassing, gets to the heart of each emotion and the significance of every conversation. Gray and company don't mess around in detailing the sure power and magnitude of this group through concerts, riots, and nationwide recognition, and they do so in a manner that's investing from the very first time the group is questioned by police for doing nothing wrong.
"Straight Outta Compton," again, much like the music of N.W.A., hooks you with its bravado and swagger. We see the incredible charisma and charm of these five men, we hear their hard-hitting lyricism and their strong production, and we feel their simultaneous pride for their city and condemnation of its flaws, such as systemic racism and discrimination. From Gray's assured direction, it continues with the performances, all of which unanimously strong. Eazy-E was a character I wasn't really expecting to see developed as much as he was, but with the writing at hand and Jason Mitchell's emotionally potent and tender performance, he becomes the standout in a sea of great acting.
Each actor brings something to the table here; Jackson, Jr.'s aggression is unmatched, particularly in a telling scene involving Priority Records, Hawkins is the conviction and the even-tempered soul through all this madness, Hodge is the wit and the sporadic humor of the group, and Brown, Jr. is the backup to all the characters in the film whenever they need it. Mitchell is the tender and enigmatic one, someone who isn't easily defined, has trouble rapping and performing occasionally, but someone who also comes with big ideas for the group he knows, loves, and wants to make huge. Finally, let's not forget Giamatti, in his second Oscar-worthy performance (first being in "Love & Mercy") of the year, who gives a performance just as emotionally investing and captivating as that of Mitchell's, particularly when the two are having a heart-to-heart.
As entertainment, "Straight Outta Compton," for this past summer, is unmatchable in its level of fun and human interest. As social commentary, despite being set a few decades back, the film is frighteningly current in its issues and its ideas. While it may follow some typical tropes of a biopic (the "rise and fall" structure), nonetheless, the sleekness and universal strength of everyone and everything in this project make it rise above those shortcomings into something truly worthwhile. Finally, as a piece of hip-hop history, and film in general, it's an indisputable must-see.
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Not Without A-holes
Warning: Spoilers
The most entertaining thing about this movie for me wasn't actually in the movie. It was the clever memes people put onto Facebook. Mine was: Straight Outta My Mom.
Sure, I grew up in the 1980s and 1990s and knew of these artists, but they were never my bag. Never been a rap fan, so I knew very little of their history here. Make that, I knew almost nothing going in, so all of this was interesting from an outsider's POV. That said, my suspicions were correct: There were no good people here. Everyone was pretty much an asshole and contained very little moral ground to cling to.
I did, however, agree with their rights to the First Amendment and completely disagreed with those who fought against their privilege to use their talents to convey their messages.
The movie, while well-made, is just another run-of-the-mill music biopic. Inspiring artists with no one to back them and more telling them not to continue, finally make it. This comes with costs, tensions, jealousy, contract disputes, make-ups, etc., etc.
Mercifully, and delving into spoiler territory, the movie redeems the real-life characters, but sadly by the time the Lifetime Movie moment happens, I've all-but dismissed everyone as bad people.
Hell, even when they try and do the right thing, they give their opposition freedom to rightfully slam them.
Again, the movie was competently made, interesting and definitely well-acted. Didn't turn me into any fan of rap, or the N.W.A., but it was worth a watch.
***
Final thoughts: Either I saw the reader's digest version, or they're not telling the whole story, but it sucks on how much violence they threatened and caused and got away with it. All the way through this, I only stayed in their corner for their First Amendment rights. All the other sh|t they pulled, well…live by the sword
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Rhymes of The Ghetto
"Straight Outta Compton" has the similar taste of the other Music business,Wall Street business and the merchandise business movies which could easily satisfy and inspire the young audience to live their Katharsis of being a successful man or woman in the future, like the depicted successful people in these biographical genre movies. Because of theming this advantageous fact, usually these kinds of movies reaches the box office success in a short time (The Recent Example is The Wolf of Wall Street ). In addition to that, if you choose real biographic characters who live in ghettos and climbing the huge wall of the world's top in a while, definitely sell. Especially to young needy teenagers and young people eager to try everything to break the societies pressures and taboos.
The expectation on the box office is important of course. "Straight Outta Compton" will possibly gain the success on box office.But some effectiveness' can make the audience feel uncomfortable about watching it again or remember it as their one of all time favorite classic. At least I will criticize the defectiveness that I have determined after I watched the movie until the end.
The Subject of the biographic approach of Rap All-Stars is a perfect and unique idea. The originality can't be questioned. However the catharsis that I have mentioned before could not work for all cinema audience, I found the directing, acting and narration superficial.This was not the first biographical movie that has disappointed me with its narration and process of progression. And I think that won't be the last for sure.That's another argument.The main point is some biographies made by commercial concerns and cosmetic structure, harms them sometimes.This is the Rap Music's fathers' story,the action scenes could be more efficient on the contrary of matching some action b-movies, the classical and vigilant music agent profile played by Paul Giamatti, gave me the feeling of the same type which I ran across in other Music based movies.The actors who play the role of The Rap creators are good. The lack of the Katharsis begins with their shallow depiction, so that I definitely think that Dre or Ice Cube or Eazy E's lives depiction with other characters and crowded casting had created that mess and caused the defectiveness. Because almost 2 and a half hour movie isn't enough to depict the whole family of rap's beginning and the depiction of separate lives of them could make a better order in the narration. Linked to that criticism of the shallow narration, the documentary trace additions which would be a good idea on a biographical Movie, was used ineffectively in my opinion. For Example The Rap's born documentary series on VH1 would be watchable for all kinds of documentary lovers, so I believe that in the movie this magazine coverage documentary style is used by showing the social struggles of the Rapper's since their youth, the police's tough attitudes to the Black Citizens in their Neighbourhoods and putting the actual footage of the fights and plundering in the ghettos. However the idea of Half magazine and half crime narrated documentary style using in a movie, is very hard job and I realized that some parts were good adopted from this kind of E! or VH1 documentaries but some parts seemed weak because of several things that make the distinction between Documentary Movie and Cinema Movie, which would cause dead ends on the narration of Cinema Movie.
For instance the lack of voice narration as a result of the director's obligation of staying out of magazine words, the time-lapse difference between a documentary and a movie,the slow timing usage to tell the story in the movie on the contrary of a rushing biographical documentary and doing it with telling the audience the story of at least 5-6 rap stars in such a slow occasion, had killed the spirit of the "Magazine-Documentary- Biography" triplet style depiction. But I still believe that "Straight Outta Compton" could easily be the first and unique example of the future styles of direction and maybe could create a new unique genre as well.
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A film about a bunch of money obsessed aggressive young men.
First i have to confess that before watching this i didn't have a clue who NWA was. The Hip Hip / Rap scene passed me by or more accurately i avoided it because i really can't stand rap. F. Gary Gray lazily presumes the audience is already familiar with these people and that annoyed me. I did not have a clue who the members of NWA were and i think that put me at a massive disadvantage when watching this film. The characters aren't the most likable of people. They seemed to spend the majority of the film scowling and arguing about money rather than making music and it this grated on me ( but not as much as the music) . Only in the last half an hour of the film do we actually see any form of compassion or humanity from the band members . It wasn't until the film showed a few real film footage clips near the end did i realise how well they did with the casting as the actors as they really do look like the real artists. Sadly that wasn't enough for me to like this film but i'm sure fans of NWA would totally disagree.
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Don't Listen to the 1 Star Reviews
Everyone one here who complains about the movie don't know what they're talking about. This movie is reality! Police brutality, growing up in the hood, the extravagant lifestyle of singers/rappers is all there. Someone complained about this being vulgar and not appropriate for kids? No duh, it's rated R. Even though it was a long movie, I didn't want it to end. You really felt what was going on in the movie. When they were angry, you were angry. When they were sad, you couldn't help but to feel that as well. Don't listen to the people complaining, and calling them "selfish". They're probably just upset at how the police were portrayed, which was the reality for N.W.A. The movie is amazing. Watch it. This movie was extremely enjoyable, and despite the length, it felt like it went by in the blink of an eye.
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A music genre and lifestyle I don't have much interest in
Warning: Spoilers
"Straight Outta Compton" is one of the most talked about films from this year and it gives us an insight into the rise and fall of the successful hip-hop posse NWA. And even if I am not too interested in rap music, I cannot deny having heard of some of the main characters such as Suge Knight and Dr. Dre of course. Maybe my lack of interest in this film is because I have not lived back then yet or wasn't old enough to follow these significant years in hip-hop history. The director is F. Gary Gray and you may have seen his "Law Abiding Citizen". Another problem I had with Compton is that it just felt too long for its own good. There was nothing really refreshing in here, pretty much everything expected, such as the guys' struggles with (predominantly White) policemen, authority arguments with other black people living in the hood etc. Oscar nominee Paul Giamatti may be the most known name in the cast here playing a prominent record company boss and even if he is good as usual, he cannot make this film a memorable watch either.
This movie runs for almost 2.5 hours, which is definitely way too long. They just did not have the material to make this an exciting watch for such a long time. 100 minutes would have been more than enough. There are occasionally interesting references about the 1980s such as near the end people thinking the HIV virus would only be transmitted through gay sex, but also this area is not enough and could have been much more than it actually turned out to be. I think this film is only a good watch for people who are already hugely interested in rap music before watching. This is no film that will spark an interest for anybody who doesn't really care about hip-hop. Surprised this one has received such favorable critical reception. Not recommended.
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Drab. Non-confrontational revision of history
Ghurghgh. I loved N.W.A. for their gall, anger and methods, but hated their misogyny. Still, this film focuses on that, disses MC Ren's abilities to lift the group after Dre left, and yeah, there's more misogyny here, still. Drab. Sad. The best bits are of the band shaping their first album. The rest should be read in books and preferably forgotten. It's not hard to see why Ice Cube went on to surpass what Dre did later, even on his first solo album. I wish one would hear more dissing of Dre courtesy of Eazy-E, buuut--Eazy's dead, so Dre's words take precedence, I guess. And there's even a whole buckload of distasteful ad for beats headphones at the end of the film. Truly bad.
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Fantastic movie, whether you're a fan of the music or not
This is a movie which will grip you even if you're not a big fan of rap pioneers NWA, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, and Snoop Dogg. If you are a fan, you'll probably be in heaven. Either way, I highly recommend this movie, which has it all: great acting, a compelling story, riveting direction, and most importantly, honesty.
It doesn't make excuses, but at the same time, you see the genesis for NWA's incendiary lyrics: blatant racism and brutality by the LAPD at the direction of Daryl Gates, vast economic disparity relative to other citizens of LA, and an environment of gang violence. Can you imagine being held at gunpoint by thugs entering your school bus because you had made a few gestures at them out your window? Being forced to the ground with hands behind your back by the police for no other reason than the color of your skin?
You also see NWA's defense so eloquently put by Ice Cube (well, his son, O'Shea Jackson, Jr., who plays him brilliantly): they were simply reflecting their world, honestly, and were also protected by the First Amendment. There isn't a lot of visibility put into the misogynistic lyrics of the genre and these artists, but it is clear that they were young men acting out, and when we see the older Cube a family man, sagely reflecting back on a video he made was younger, we appreciate that. We tend to have barriers and stereotypes built up, demonizing others we don't understand particularly when they confront and challenge the status quo, and this movie really helps break those down. At the same time, the attitude and actions against women were the areas that I felt the artists got too much of a pass, and a perfectly honest movie would have included those elements.
I liked seeing all of the personalities in what was a very special time in music history, similar to when McCartney met Lennon or Jagger met Richards. Fans of those bands, calm down, I'm not suggesting NWA reached the heights of the Beatles or Stones, but what an incredible influence they had on an entire genre from the crucible that was Compton in the 80's. You see the fiery lyrics of Ice Cube, the visionary genius of Dr. Dre, and the tragic story of Eazy-E. Corey Hawkins plays Dre and Jason Mitchell plays Eazy-E, and both are fantastic. You see great nuance in the character of the band's manager Paul Heller, played by Paul Giamatti, who advocates for them and advances them, but also ultimately screws them. You see the jealousies between the band members lead to a schism. You see Snoop Dogg (Keith Stanfield) arrive on the scene, and you see a real villain in Suge Knight (R. Marcos Taylor), who at first seems to be helping them get out of a situation in which they're being taken advantage of, but quickly does that himself, and in addition, exercise extreme violence in asserting his power. The quality of the acting is consistently high. The story itself is fascinating, and Director F. Gary Gray did a great job of figuring out what to leave in and what to leave out. Even though it's 147 minutes, which is long, you'll find it flies by and doesn't seem long, which is the sign of a great story-teller. It's quite surprising that none of these fine actors, the director, or the movie itself were even nominated for an Oscar, and quite right that that fact was widely protested. Definitely go see this movie.
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If nothing else, Straight Outta Compton is entertaining to say the least.
Straight Outta Compton tells the the story of the most influential group in hip-hop and rap, that group being N.W.A or as Eazy-E so gracefully puts it N****s With Attitudes. Directed by F. Gary Gray, Straight Outta Compton is, without a doubt, his best work behind the camera. However, by traditional standards, that isn't saying much. Gray is no stranger to N.W.A, Ice Cube or Dr. Dre having directed numerous music videos featuring their music. While the film is a very nice "fairy tale" telling of a story filled with tension, violence and rage, it lacks the balls to tell the actual story. Instead, the film picks and chooses what to tell and what to leave out, very strategically as well considering the film is two and a half hours plus. Starting with the streets of Compton, we are introduced to each character with a bang. Each of them getting their own introduction as if they were folk heroes or something, whether it is petty crime or writing rap lyrics, the film shows these characters with a sense of heroism to them no matter what they're doing. The best performance out of the group would have to be Corey Hawkins as Dr. Dre. Hawkins delivers in every scene he's in, making it a true standout performance among actors that sometimes feel like they're in over their heads, more specifically Jason Mitchell, who plays Eazy-E. Mitchell feels more like a caricature of the late rapper rather than an actual actor portraying a real life counterpart. The film moves quickly enough and focuses long and hard on all of the partying, the women, the guns and the drugs, so much so that you start to wonder whether the film is a N.W.A music video tribute. Despite the falsehoods, the glorification and the shaky performances, Straight Outta Compton works well as an entertaining film. The only downside of this film is its haphazard statement on Police Brutality. While that is as prevalent as a topic can get for a film from 2015 about N.W.A, that was not the highlight of the group. The highlight of the group was the fight against the censors. A fight that they won, obviously. Despite that truth, the film wallows in trying to be a message about police brutality rather than a film about these men, their flaws and their triumphs, their ups and their downs. Unfortunately, it leaves us knowing nothing new about these people and at two and a half hours, we should leave this film knowing every little detail about them. Instead, we're left wanting more out of them. Overall, Straight Outta Compton ends up being an entertaining film about some of America's favorite rap artists instead of an important one.
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Not only tells the story of NWA, but the movie itself is a milestone in hip hop.
When I saw the film was going to be well over two hours, I will admit I thought they were too overzealous, but every minute of this movie was entertaining.
The fact that a movie that tells the history of hip hop's most infamous group, and is on the level of such biopics as Oliver Stone's The Doors just shows you were hip hop has gone since the beginning of NWA.
Usually biopics like this get boring when the third act hits, but not Straight out of Compton. It keeps your heart pumping to the very last minute.
He's not gonna go down in history as the world's greatest thespian but you could do no wrong with Ice Cube Jr. Mimicking daddy-o (Ice Cube's son plays his dad and looks just like him). He had it down, but so did the kid playing Easy E, but the real credit goes to F. Gary Gray who made music videos for members of NWA. The writers and producers which included Ice cube also contributed to how entertaining this movie was. It feels like everyone cared about the project.
Straight out of Compton is a positive spin on the NWA story, showing how five guys from the neighborhood who only wanted to make music for the kids on their block ended up taking over the world. It's has this "this could be you" vibe and overall is an uplifting story about living your dreams on your terms. It's no different than any other rock star's story and that's one of the reasons it's amazing.
Also like how the story gave equal time to members DJ Yella and MC Ren. I was expecting the Big three players in the band to overshadow them, but the film treated these two with respect.
What a great story. It was totally worthy of the 2 hours and 42 mins spent in the theater. Every minute counted.
I'm thinking good enough to get nominated for something in awards season.
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how you like it
Whether you'd like Straight Outta Compton depends on how you like hip hop. However, if you're a NWA fan you probably know all there is to know about the events depicted in the movie.
With Dr. Dre and Ice Cube among producers i can assume that the facts are slightly skewed. But even this notion, and i admit it is slightly below the line, doesn't influence the big picture. This is one fine biopic.
The rest is really your opinion. If you're into hip hop, this is one of those movies that would be a candidate for the Holy Grail. My opinion, though, is implied by my vote...
The resemblance of the actors to the real-life NWA members is amazing, although i didn't expect less from O'Shea Jackson Jr. for obvious reasons.
My strongest impression, though, is how biopics such as Straight Outta Compton influence my opinion about the protagonists. I like to call it "Wikpedia's drawback". In this particular case, i've listened to NWA and later mostly Dr. Dre and formed my opinion both about the authors and their output. This is some kind of idealized picture. But when you read on Wikipedia or see a biopic and realize how it all really happened it always gives me a whole new insight. And such insights are not always positive.
Yet again, this is all just my opinion.
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Don't bother.
I didn't have high expectations for this but I knew the characters portrayed and was interested in their history. Unfortunately, the acting is poor and the direction appears to have no purpose. The music has not stood the test of time and is now dull, repetitious and tries far too hard. It is amazing to look back and believe that these people and their "music" became popular at all. Rap lacks any real innovation and doesn't seem to have progressed very far since the 1980s. It needs to steer away from the violence and misogyny that it popularizes and I wonder why women don't complain out loudly about this.
The actual story is so stereotypical and formulaic that it became tedious to watch very early on and made it difficult to stay interested. After watching I cannot believe the high rating the film has here and I can only put it down to some earnest fans and their friends voting for the music rather than the story.
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Excellent Movie about Influential Pop Culture Giants
I was reading some of the reviews about this amazing movie and wanted to laugh. "Oh my gosh, it has sex, drugs and violence. Boo hoo!" I mean, do people do any kind of research before shelling out their $10? This movie takes place in Compton in the mid 80s. This wasn't Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, this was a rough, hardcore area where blacks didn't know if they would be arrested and assaulted by cops or shot at by gangsters anytime they stepped out the door. "Straight Outta Compton" is one of the most remarkable rags to riches stories about a group that changes the face to music, movies and pop culture on a grander scale.
The movies introduces us to the five members of N.W.A.: Ice Cube, Easy-E, Dr. Dre, DJ Yella, and MC Ren. We see how the group formed, how they met manager Jerry Heller, the recording of their first album, the flack they received on tours, their constant battle over censorship and freedom of speech, their lives of excess and partying, the trouble they experienced by law enforcement for just standing there, the battle of egos, inner band turmoil, and eventually the splitting up of the group. If you are a fan of hip hop, you know how much of an influence N.W.A. had to the rise of West Coast Hip Hop and Gangsta Rap. At this time, the only real way to hear new music was the radio, and due to their controversial lyrics, they never got any airplay, but the media helped create buzz and popularity almost indadvertedly by talking about how controversial the group was and how people didn't like their music. That resulted in the band becoming multi-platinum superstars. In fact, the band didn't just grab the black audience, but was highly popular with white men, who started turning away from rock music, which was facing a decline due to cheesy hair metal production, to this new, powerful, anti-establishment credo that rock once represented. Yes, there is drug use, sex and violence, but this was the life these guys knew, and no matter how far you go, you never forget your roots or completely leave them.
The actors all do an excellent job in their roles. The only real veteran in this film is Paul Giamatti, who does his usual solid performance, this time as the sleazy, manipulative manager Jerry Heller. Interestingly enough, Giamatti was in another music biopic this year, Love and Mercy, about another influential Southern California band (The Beach Boys). Both bands, very much from the same area, had such a influence to their periods of time and represented completely different worlds of Southern California youth life.
Even if you're not a fan of hip-hop, I still think you need to this as their effect on pop culture in general is still prevalent today. Also, on a sadder note, the issues of police brutality on minorities still is a glaring problem that makes F the Police sound just as fresh as it did in 1988.
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A very well paced film with great characters and human emotion.
I'm a hip-hop head and grew up in the NWA era, even if I wasn't a hip-hop junkie I don't think I would love this movie any less. When I first saw the trailer I wasn't quite sold. The movie was wonderful. I cannot find too many things I didn't like about it. If I were too nitpick, then I would say they painted Dre & Ice Cube too positively. I'm pretty sure there were less flattering things about them. But judging this from just how well it was written, acted and directed, I would have to say this was flawless.
Obviously there are five members of the group, and the film chose to focus more on the three most popular members, which I did not have a problem with. Because the movie was carried out so well, it did not affect the overall story of the group as a whole. What made this so wonderful for me is that almost every pivotal scene in the movie, I remember being a part of it, because I remember where I was when each moment was happening. When certain songs were shown being made or when the tragic news of Eazy-E was reported. It took me down memory lane of my own life, not too many films can do this.
And the music of course is a major part of the story and it was well executed. Now let's talk about the cast. What a well-put together cast! This movie had humor, tragedy and everything in between. It was sold by this wonderful cast. Basically Ice Cube's son O'Shea Jackson was born to play this role, literally and he knocked it out the park. But the two that held this glue together was Paul Giamatti playing Jerry Heller and Jason Mitchell as Eazy-E. The chemistry between those two was amazing. I would love to see someone from this cast get an Academy Award nomination. In my opinion, this is a great contender for Best Film for the Oscars.
As a hip-hop junkie and a lover of great films, I would like to say thank you to the creators of this movie for reminding me why I love Hip-Hop so much.
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Word!
I have a problem with the clothing and the script.I am always very sensitive to when the slang or clothing are misplaced in an era.Young black men didn't say ah-IE back then. Lots of baseball caps and over-sized t-shirts as well.The word alright sounded more like alright back in those days. Black urban youths started saying ah-IE pretty recently.Perhaps no longer than 10 years ago.In fact they didn't ask "what-up"? either.They didn't use the N word as much however did in fact refer to each other as blood or sometimes even dog. It would have been a pretty good production they just gotten their 80's script down (by law).I am.When it comes to black cinema I am fairly sure I know what's good and genuine.The police use of unnecessary force and the N word are induced to prove the peril of Compton at the time. Colors portrayed it with more realism and I have to give this an overall low rating for being too contrived an poorly researched.I know i'll get my honky s whooped now and have to lick it up but word.
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I'm Going To See It Again!!! INCREDBILE
OMG! I never go into movies with high expectations, but this one I did, and I'm glad I did because it completely MATCHED my high expectations! The story was beautifully told, casting and portrayals on POINT! The actors made me feel laughter, sadness and anger! I left out of that theater proud.
I will be taking my parents to go see this with me so they can know the people I was born into listening to. They only watch them now on commercials and love watching them in movies, but never knew their background on where they came from and how they got started. They always took me to go see history so I figure I will return the favor and take them to see some of mine. The crazy part is, the story that's told is STILL relevant to what is going on today.
Amazing job. I have nothing bad to say about this story at all. Simply incredible. 10 points!
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Hip Hop fans will like this
Warning: Spoilers
I'll come clean and say that I generally liked this film because I love hip hop; particularly from the late 80's through to the late 90's. I was interested in the character portrayal, the music was great and as a hip hop fan it was interesting.
However ...
Honestly, as a film it was pretty bad really. The acting is terrible, it's an hour too long and I find it a bit weird that Cube and Dre are bigging themselves up massively and they are the producers. I can't imagine that anyone that does not like hip hop would even begin to like this film in the slightest. It's very boring towards the end and it's just a series of really weird scenes all cut together.
I'm not sure why it's doing so well with the critics, but I expect that the timing is great with Dre's new album and the Apple Music stuff. Either way, if you like hip hop you'll like this for a lot of reasons. If you don't, this is likely to be the worse film you'll ever see!
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Just Amazing. Doesn't matter if you are hiphop fan or not
I try to make it quick this time. Watch this movie. It is easily one of the best I have seen in a long time and I was skeptical with all the praise it got beforehand. But it is well deserved. The three lead actors are amazing as well as the direction. Yes you see them "fight" the police but this is not a political film. This is a drama.
It is about friendship, about self-fulfillment, about creating something and about how greed destroys everything. It has been a long time that I sat in a movie theater and you could feel how much respect and love everybody in the audience has for this film. You don't need to love HipHop to enjoy this incredible movie.
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The beginning of the mess....straight back to Compton!!
Warning: Spoilers
...I had to watch the movie since I actually liked at the time some of the music of NWA, especially the title track of the movie. Yet what happened after-wards, after their success, is just a sell out to make a bunch of money with no more attitude than all the others.
And now the movie and it would deserve just one star, yet the music brings back some memories when things could have been changed in a different way than they wanted to. Look at them now, nowadays...thats all that there is to say about the characters of the movie.
The acting is typical for the gang banging crowds nowadays and so it can be seen on every street-corner in major cities and is nothing special and that I mean not in a good way. If that was meant to change things, well Sirs, screw you! The story itself, well I do not know what is true and what is not, but like stated above, in the end it came to make more money than others. What they have changed is just that violence and negativity can bring success, that youths of today look up to them what they could do and want to do as well...THAT is what they have changed and just because Compton is nowadays almost everywhere, does not make this a success in changes, but a success in stupidity. And so it does not matter to me if you become legit than after-wards and make movies about your awful youth and how you can succeed and then make funny movies, like Ice Cube....
So what remains is the music...there was once a dream of a few guys who wanted to change something, what they have changed is to have today an attitude, which became wide spread, for the big buck. Nothing wrong with it, yet don't be surprised when you get now the attitude that you spread and so...please straight BACK to Compton and please try again!
For former NWA fans a must, for people who love the attitude nowadays a must, for normalos who aren't impressed but rather appalled by the success of a negative attitude and the real change they created, a no show!
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solid biodrama
It's 1987. Ice Cube (O'Shea Jackson Jr.) and Dr. Dre (Corey Hawkins) are trying to put out reality rap. They get reluctant Eazy-E (Jason Mitchell) and they form N.W.A. Faded producer Jerry Heller (Paul Giamatti) helps Eazy-E create Ruthless. They sign with Bryan Turner at Priority Records. Suge Knight (R. Marcus Taylor) is a hustler always around. During their initial success, Ice Cube refuses to sign with Jerry and later decides to go on as a solo act. These young men rise out of the gang-infested, LAPD-harassed Compton to give voice to a new generation.
There is a great energy surrounding this biopic. The actors are solid. The fact that I don't recognize them as actors make it easier for them to fade into the roles. Of course, the story is compelling. There seems to be a little bit of papering some parts of their history. That's perfectly expected especially with the participation of these artists. Without them, the movie wouldn't be made. Nevertheless, the story is still fascinating. The music is awesome. The last act is a bit slow. It could have trim some of that to intensify the ending. It may also be more compelling to end sooner. Overall, it's a solid watch.
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'Straight Outta Compton' is one music bio-epic you can't miss. It's an incredible film that is executed exquisitely, and not only that, it's an important film.
Warning: Spoilers
Music biopics are one of my favorite genres of film. I love seeing a musical artist or band portrayed on screen and their rise to fame, complete with how they came up with their platinum hits, warts and all. As of lately, we haven't seen a ton of these biopics with the exception of the excellent 'Love & Mercy' about Beach Boys member Brian Wilson. Most of the biopics usually focus on one person or a band and go up until they hit it big, but that's not the case with 'Straight Outta Compton', which is more of a bio-epic than a biopic. Instead of following one person, the film follows three main characters with a treasure trove of other superstar artists.
The three in question are Andre Young, O'Shea Jackson, and Eric Wright or Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, and Eazy-E respectively as they form one of the world's greatest rap groups in the late 80s - 'N.W.A.'. Director F. Gary Gray ('Friday'), has perfectly strewn together several characters and told their stories through several years, highlighting the good times as well as the bad of these three amazing artists. If you grew up like I did in the 80's and 90's, 'N.W.A.' was a huge deal. Not only was their music and lyrics incredible and powerful, but they spoke the truth about was going down in their violent neighborhoods as well as how the racist and trigger happy L.A.P.D. would treat them and their fellow neighbors.
Nothing like that had been done before and caused a revolution of sorts as it gave the people a voice to stand up against the unfair and unjust law enforcement, as well as shed light onto what was going on the in these certain neighborhoods on a daily basis. Dre (Corey Hawkins) and Ice Cube (Ice Cube's son O'Shea Jackson Jr.) were already creating beats and rapping about the streets at local rollerskating rinks and other parties in town to get by, and people were taking a keen liking to the new style of rap. It was then that they asked their drug-dealer friend Eazy-E (Jason Mitchell) to front the money to cut single, which would become 'Boyz n the Hood', as Dre made the music, Cube wrote the lyrics, and Eazy sang.
It didn't all come easily either as we see in a humorous scene where they finally talk Eazy into getting on the microphone, and realize he sounds awful, that is until Dre gives him some advice and direction, to which we hear those iconic lyrics, "Cruisin' down the street in my 64". This film is made up of moments like this, and it's so much fun to see how these amazing artists came up with it. After the 'Boyz n the Hood' single was released on Eazy's Ruthless Records, Jerry Heller (Paul Giamatti), a music manager comes after Eazy and tells him her can bring him to the top of the music game. All seems kosher and right with Jerry at first, but he's focused on Eazy rather than anyone else in the group, leaving Dre, Ice Cube, MC Ren, and DJ Yella without pay or claim to their contributions to their first record 'Straight Outta Compton'.
As we go through these guy's careers, we also see their vulnerable side, as they struggle with fame, death, law enforcement, and even the federal government who try to cease and censor their music. We even see the origin of their famous song 'F*ck the Police', after several repugnant L.A. police officers force these guys to the ground outside their music studio for doing literally nothing, which is something these musicians have witnessed and been privy to many times before. We also get glimpses of how TuPac, Snoop Dogg, Warren G, and Suge Knight came into play as well, with their usual claims to fame, whether it be how Snoop and Dre created "Nuthin' But a "G" Thang", Dre showing 'California Love' to TuPac, or Suge Knight showing his true violent colors.
It's all well directed and executed in a manner that you'd always hoped it would, which respects these artists. The film spans quite a few years and gives each person enough time to relate and sympathize with, which is key in this story and Gray shows each sequence, emotional moment, and concert flawlessly. The actors here are perfect as well, and all show some great promise in their future careers. Each performance was spot on and very believable, pulling out each emotion perfectly. You might even muster tears at certain points from these great performances.
Not only that, these guys look so much like the real-life people they're portraying that I forgot I was watching different actors several times throughout. Their facial expressions and mannerisms are spot on. And of course, Paul Giamatti plays the asshole business manager/agent very well, just like he's played in several other films in his recent career. Then of course there is the music, which is chock full of the greatest rap hits from this time period. You'll find yourself moving to the beat with each song. It's hypnotic in a way.
'Straight Outta Compton' is one music bio-epic you can't miss. It's an incredible film that is executed exquisitely, and not only that, it's an important film, that showcases some of the violence of law enforcement that is going on today. This is a must-see.
HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION AND MUST SEE!
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This Movie Is Sooooooooooo Good
Their stories are told well, vivid and emotional. It helps fill in the blanks if you remember this time period on what really happened.
I laughed I cried and sang along. It was a beautiful piece of art. Loved the quality of acting definitely Oscar worthy!
The movie did a great job putting their songs and feelings into context with the political climate as well as the internal struggles that they had as a group.
I have much more respect for these guys because they have definitely come a long way merely by believing in themselves and standing up for their dreams and the social causes that they believed in.
Although I am not from Compton (Oakland), I love how they portrayed both the good and the bad within the city and showed how Compton and cities like it tend to not be like other places and therefore cannot be judged as such.
I am definitely going to see this movie again this weekend (opening weekend) so that my dollars count even more.
I left the theater feeling misty thinking about Eazy and his family and what this movie really means to his memory. My heart was overjoyed because the truth is out about them and I think audiences today will be able to reflect on the criticism of that time with new and different eyes knowing all that is taking place in our world today.
This movie is coming out at the best time and I think that so many people will be able to relate to fighting for the underdog, voicing the untold story, and achieving more than you could ever dream possible. Love Love Love it.
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Source: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1398426/reviews
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