Straight Outta Compton Review

RYAN: I found this movie interesting because I’m not of fan of hip hop and rap music.  I only peripherally paid attention to these artists over the decades, but after seeing this film, you realize how culturally significant their success was.  It’s also a brilliant film in of itself.  And their music changed the world.

CHUCK: It was a groundbreaking movement.  I remember becoming aware of it in the mid-80s. And NWA releasing Straight Outta Compton, was a massive hit.  It was passionate and worked people up but was also a new sound.  This movie exemplifies all of that.

RYAN: Yes the movement had an impact but this movie is also quite impactful – the editing, the graphics.  Right from the start, it’s gritty and loud and it puts you in Compton.  You’re taken back to the time and along for the ride with the community this music was born from.

CHUCK: You’re right.  It is immersive.  It doesn’t just tell you the story, it puts you into the story.  And aside from actually experiencing it, you fell the evolution of this art.  There haven’t been many movies that show this.

RYAN: What’s interesting about the music of NWA and of the artists as they went off on their own, is that they create art imitating life. and as audiences listened to it and related to it, it was life imitating art.

CHUCK: It does go full circle.

RYAN: They put their experiences into their music.  Many artists talk about how personal their music is, but these artists were literal and their rhymes gave an outlet to a community that wasn’t represented in popular music before then.

CHUCK: So true.  The other thing this movie does that’s important, is that it shows how the media portrays them as thugs. It has come to be known as gangster rap but it was just West Coast rap at that point.

RYAN: It also shows some of the shady side of the music business.  It’s fascinating and heartbreaking to see how people take advantage of other people in the name of business.

CHUCK: And it’s the tale as old as time of getting into the arts and people latching onto you for the wrong reasons.  It’s a cautionary tale.  You also see how much police brutality they experienced.  It happened then and sadly, it’s still timely now.

RYAN: Right.  And it’s all shot really well.  The music is great.  I turn rap music off on the radio, but in the context of this film, I was grooving to it.

CHUCK: It totally took me back to hearing NWA at parties.

RYAN: Casting is great – Ice Cube is played by his real life son, O’Shea Jackson Jr, in his first acting credit.  So great.

CHUCK: Such a great opportunity.

RYAN: And Corey Hawkins as Dr. Dre, Jason Mitchell as Eazy-E – excellent performances.

CHUCK: All fantastic.  It is a drama but there are some great comedic moments as well, plus the music – it’s very well balanced.

RYAN: It’s hard to cultivate careers in the music biz and these guys really did it.  It’s amazing and this movie makes you look at their life and think “Whoa! Look where they came from!” Compton!  And they all paved the way for Snoop, TuPac, etc…  This movie is two and a half hours and could have been trimmed down to just two, LBH, let’s be honest.

CHUCK: They could have at least shaved out fifteen minutes.

RYAN: That’s my only criticism of the film.

CHUCK: They recreated the era so well with costumes, props, everything.  They did a great job.  It’s fantastic.

RYAN: It’s rated-R and doesn’t shy away from showing us what really goes on.  It’s entertaining and as culturally significant part of American culture and world music culture – and history in general.

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