Review of Straight Outta Compton (2015) by Yorkman — 10 Feb 2016

Decent enough film.... Well directed, well acted, well scored.... But..........

There are major problems with the narrative. As many people have pointed out, anyone with any knowledge of the history of NWA will spot inaccuracies all over the place.

The main reason(s) for this is that the film's producers include NWA founders Dr. Dre and Ice Cube. With them involved in the film on all levels, they go to great lengths to promote their own legends.

No mention of anything controversial either man did, and only passing references made to contemporary newspaper/magazine articles they refused to contradict.

There's also the small matter of almost deleting the other members of NWA (apart from Eazy-E) from the story altogether, something which was dismissed with the notion of how important they were beyond the initial formation of the group, which is a ludicrous notion.

Also, the film is far, far, far too long. The first 60 minutes is electrifying, but the remaining almost hour and a half drags so much.

Overall, it's a film you would probably watch once, just for the experience. However, don't go into it thinking you'll get a deep expose of the formation of the group, the background of its members, and an accurate portrayal of what happened after the band made it big.

It take massive liberties with what is (and isn't) included, and (as mentioned) plays up the 'Legends' surrounding Dre, Cube and E.