Straight Outta Compton - directed by F. Gary Gray
Starring: O'Shea Jackson, Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, Neil Brown Jr, Pail Giamatti, Keith Powers, Aldis Hodge, Marlon Yates Jr, Carra Peterson
Running Time: 147 minutes
Rated: R16 - Plentiful nudity, violence, drug use and profanity.
And for a third time in as many movies this one is centred around material that I have little knowledge of.
With "Southpaw" it was boxing, with "We Are Your Friends" the DJ scene and now this....
A movie about the emerging rap and hip-hop scene in mid eighties Los Angeles.
I didn't listen to the music but am old enough to remember the controversy as rap followed in the footsteps of comics, horror movies and heavy metal to become the scourge of a generation and a sure sign that the world was going to hell in the eyes and very preachy words of those that would seek to protect us all from such things.
My lack of interest in the movie disappeared when I saw the first trailer however.
It looked like an interesting story and one rich with sensational aspects.
My lack of knowledge about N.W.A the band looked to become a plus - I could go into this one completely 'spoiler' free.
Obviously this is yet another huge win for Universal who already have the big box office receipts of "Fast and Furious 7" and "Jurassic World".
"Straight Outta Compton" has already pulled in $135,000,000 in the US alone.
Not bad for a $28,000,000 movie.
It's not hard to see what has audiences flocking.
Apart from the interest in a particularly volatile and sensationalist era in the music industry this is the proverbial poor boy (or boys) made good story.
Who doesn't love one of those.
Turns out that I certainly do as this movie despite being two and a half hours long absolutely zips by.
The main focus tends to be Ice Cube (played by his real life son who is a dead ringer), Dr Dre and Eazy-E.
With Ice Cube and Dr Dre producing the movie it is not surprising that some details will be remembered in a fonder light than reality would suggest.
But still it is fascinating watching the group form and catch the attention of a manager who takes them to major success and a nationwide tour.
Director F. Gary Gray ("The Negotiator", "Friday", "Law Abiding Citizen") is the perfect choice as director.
Apart from having worked with Ice Cube on his comedy hit "Friday" he has constantly proven how good he is with pacing.
His action suspense movie "The Negotiator" is an underrated gem of a movie.
With "Straight Outta Compton" he keeps everything moving at a lightning pace without ever making things feel rushed.
The only time he slips ever so slightly is in the final half hour where the movie seems to lack some direction.
Tupac is featured but the end of his life is not delved into.
Perhaps it is just as well - that event could easily shift the focus of the movie off the leads and unbalance it.
Generally the movie keeps away from cheap sensationalism.
The Rodney King incident features heavily as do the riots that followed but Gray uses them smartly to enrich what has happened already.
Casting in this sort of movie is vital and although only O'Shea Jackson Jr looks like his character the actors playing Dre and Eazy-E don't really.
It doesn't matter however as both actors do great work.
Corey Hawkins playing Dre is particularly impressive.
Paul Giamatti unsurprisingly steals every scene that he is in as manager Jerry Heller.
It's a performance that offers a lot to Giamatti and he takes full advantage of the shifting role that his character plays.
Whatever Heller ultimately became the early scenes show that he was adept at spotting a good thing when he saw it.
It is the standard plot of the music biopic to show the discovery, success and fall of the central subject or subjects but in the case of "Straight Outta Compton" it manages to avoid this.
Obviously Dre and Ice Cube are still with us and still succeeding in ventures outside of music directly but this knowledge doesn't detract from the interest in following them.
All in all this is definitely far superior to any of its ilk.
"Ray" and "Walk the Line" are overrated to me and "The Doors" bored me so much that I actually found myself looking forward to Jim Morrison getting into the tub and ending the movie.
Not so with "Straight Outta Compton" - I enjoyed this from frame one to end credits.
When the credits did arrive I was surprised to find that the running time had elapsed.
Even if it bogs every so slightly towards the end this is a hell of an entertaining movie whether you love rap or like me know absolutely nothing about it.
RATING: 76/ 100
CONCLUSION: Fascinating, compelling stuff that defies its two and a half hour running time to appear much shorter. Twice as good as "Ray" and "Walk the Line" combined.
Running Time: 147 minutes
Rated: R16 - Plentiful nudity, violence, drug use and profanity.
And for a third time in as many movies this one is centred around material that I have little knowledge of.
With "Southpaw" it was boxing, with "We Are Your Friends" the DJ scene and now this....
A movie about the emerging rap and hip-hop scene in mid eighties Los Angeles.
I didn't listen to the music but am old enough to remember the controversy as rap followed in the footsteps of comics, horror movies and heavy metal to become the scourge of a generation and a sure sign that the world was going to hell in the eyes and very preachy words of those that would seek to protect us all from such things.
My lack of interest in the movie disappeared when I saw the first trailer however.
It looked like an interesting story and one rich with sensational aspects.
My lack of knowledge about N.W.A the band looked to become a plus - I could go into this one completely 'spoiler' free.
Obviously this is yet another huge win for Universal who already have the big box office receipts of "Fast and Furious 7" and "Jurassic World".
"Straight Outta Compton" has already pulled in $135,000,000 in the US alone.
Not bad for a $28,000,000 movie.
It's not hard to see what has audiences flocking.
 |
| Jason Mitchell as Eazy-E |
Who doesn't love one of those.
Turns out that I certainly do as this movie despite being two and a half hours long absolutely zips by.
The main focus tends to be Ice Cube (played by his real life son who is a dead ringer), Dr Dre and Eazy-E.
With Ice Cube and Dr Dre producing the movie it is not surprising that some details will be remembered in a fonder light than reality would suggest.
Although it does brush past some pretty horrible aspects and the violence seems to have been toned down there is plenty of pretty startling stuff on show.
Dre has recently apologised for his treatment of women back then but in the movie he appears to be the perfect gentleman.But still it is fascinating watching the group form and catch the attention of a manager who takes them to major success and a nationwide tour.
Director F. Gary Gray ("The Negotiator", "Friday", "Law Abiding Citizen") is the perfect choice as director.
Apart from having worked with Ice Cube on his comedy hit "Friday" he has constantly proven how good he is with pacing.
His action suspense movie "The Negotiator" is an underrated gem of a movie.
With "Straight Outta Compton" he keeps everything moving at a lightning pace without ever making things feel rushed.
The only time he slips ever so slightly is in the final half hour where the movie seems to lack some direction.
Tupac is featured but the end of his life is not delved into.
Perhaps it is just as well - that event could easily shift the focus of the movie off the leads and unbalance it.
Generally the movie keeps away from cheap sensationalism.
The Rodney King incident features heavily as do the riots that followed but Gray uses them smartly to enrich what has happened already.
Casting in this sort of movie is vital and although only O'Shea Jackson Jr looks like his character the actors playing Dre and Eazy-E don't really.
 |
| Paul Giamatti as Jerry Heller |
Corey Hawkins playing Dre is particularly impressive.
Paul Giamatti unsurprisingly steals every scene that he is in as manager Jerry Heller.
It's a performance that offers a lot to Giamatti and he takes full advantage of the shifting role that his character plays.
Whatever Heller ultimately became the early scenes show that he was adept at spotting a good thing when he saw it.
It is the standard plot of the music biopic to show the discovery, success and fall of the central subject or subjects but in the case of "Straight Outta Compton" it manages to avoid this.
Obviously Dre and Ice Cube are still with us and still succeeding in ventures outside of music directly but this knowledge doesn't detract from the interest in following them.
All in all this is definitely far superior to any of its ilk.
"Ray" and "Walk the Line" are overrated to me and "The Doors" bored me so much that I actually found myself looking forward to Jim Morrison getting into the tub and ending the movie.
Not so with "Straight Outta Compton" - I enjoyed this from frame one to end credits.
When the credits did arrive I was surprised to find that the running time had elapsed.
Even if it bogs every so slightly towards the end this is a hell of an entertaining movie whether you love rap or like me know absolutely nothing about it.
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