Straight Outta Compton Express Yourself Boyz N The Hood

Despite only being around for half a decade and releasing two albums, hip hop group N.W.A. is arguably one of the most influential groups of its kind in history. It was controversial, it was free-speaking, and it really, really hated the police. It helped establish and popularize the subgenre of gangsta rap, it contained extremely profane and violent lyrics, and it established the careers of a couple of big-name entertainers like Ice Cube and Dr. Dre. It’s almost a little surprising that the story of its members hasn’t before been made into a feature film. With Straight Outta Compton, also the title of the group’s debut album, now it has. The story follows the group’s creation in the late 1980s up until approximately 1995, after it was, for all intents and purposes, already over. The story is just slightly better than your typical rags-to-riches-to-trouble one: A few guys from Compton, CA get together, start a hip hop group, get famous way faster than they anticipated, and then start to have issues with the fame, authority, and with each other. Given that it’s based on real events, and because it follows a pretty strict formula, you’re likely going to be able to see where it goes from start to finish. If the film has problems, they stem primarily from the predictability that come from its biopic clichés, as well as not quite having enough time to explore everything that it wants to. There are several times in Straight Outta Compton where something will happen – a member will be arrested, for example – and we’ll simply skip forward in time, never witnessing what happened after that, or even mentioning it again. It’s almost like Straight Outta Compton would have worked better as a premium cable miniseries than as a feature-length film. It needed more time. I wanted more of it. That’s indicative of its quality. If I’m anything, I’m someone who’s a proponent of movies not being longer than they need to be – cutting out the fat is almost always a good thing. It’s a rare movie that needs to be longer, but Straight Outta Compton might be one of them. You’re not going to get a totally honest biopic while those involved are both (1) alive and (2) signed on as producers, but Straight Outta Compton is insightful and entertaining enough that it hardly matters. This is an incredibly enjoyable movie about the rise and fall of N.W.A., complete with great drama, fantastic acting, solid music, surprising relevancy, and even a bit of humor. It could’ve been longer, and it could’ve avoided some biopic clichés, but those are afterthoughts when looking at the whole picture. Straight Outta Compton is a visceral and powerful film that is absolutely worth the trip to the cinema. Bottom Line: Straight Outta Compton is a powerful biopic that overcomes its clichés to deliver an emotionally impactful and incredibly relevant experience. Recommendation: Go. See. Straight Outta Compton. [rating=4.5]