By Sammi Schenkel, Staff Reporter.
Ok, so I’m sure you’ve seen the “Straight Outta Compton” meme on social networking. But it’s so much more than that one picture. This film is a biopic about the hip hop group NWA from Compton, Calf. The story follows Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, DJ Yella, Eazy E, MC Ren and their rise to fame and influence over gangsta rap in the early ‘90s.
O’Shea Jackson Jr. played his father, Ice Cube so well I thought they did retroactive make-up on on him. Corey Hawkins captured Dr. Dre’s nature. Jason Mitchell was a standout; he mastered the essence of Eazy E’s personality. Neil Brown Jr. played DJ Yella and he managed to keep accurate to his demeanor. Aldis Hodge has performed the role of MC Ren in a way that would make the man himself satisfied.
The ensemble individually and collectively made it a better experience. They showed the progress as the group grew from the ‘hood to the fancy homes, while remaining the boys from Compton from beginning to end.
One of the things that stood out was how well the story was executed. Every shot and every scene had a purpose. The first scene we meet Eazy E is grimy, dark and full of heart racing adrenaline as a drug bust goes down.
One of the strongest images of the film was during the Rodney King riots in LA, was when Dr. Dre and crew were driving around and Blood and Crips tied their bandanas together against the police.
Every camera movement, prop, lyric and piece of news footage had a reason for being there. The purposeful content and story made the film stronger as it made the film much more enjoyable. Its runtime is a lengthy two and a half hours, yet it never feels that long.
The release of the film comes at a time when cases of police brutality are all over social media and news outlets. Highlighted throughout the work is NWA’s struggle as victims of police brutality more than 20 years ago. Listen to “Fuck Tha Police” and it makes their experiences very clear. Not only did they want to tell their personal story, but they wanted to reach a wide audience to make a bigger impact on the social issue of police brutality. I applaud their use of strong and shocking images because these statements might not resonate with outsiders otherwise.
A detail that I did not particularly like was the way women were used as objects, even when they were influential to NWA’s success. In their self-proclaimed story, they did not portray women as equals. I realize that the film is about NWA, not their significant others. However, they should have fleshed out the women more; it doesn’t take much time to make a woman a human as opposed to an object or plot device.
Overall, I really enjoyed the film. I’ve been listening to gangsta rap since driving home from the theater. I suggest this to anyone who loves music because this story is worth seeing.
