Review of Straight Outta Compton (2015) by Omar L — 25 Dec 2015

If there's one word to describe this movie, it's "comprehensive." A mistake that most biopics make is to focus on one part of the subject's life as if it's representative of the whole. But the story of N.W.A. cannot be told within the constraints of the group's tenure: the breakup of the band has to be explored since some of the best music of the past quarter century was a result of the group's breakup. However, the movie's need to include everything related to the group stretched into the periphery (seriously, did we really need to see Ice Cube typing the screenplay of "Friday" in his word processor?), as as such, it lasted a little too long. But as far as music biopics go, "Straight Outta Compton" is a definitive one. More than any genre of music, the impact of gangsta rap (especially West Coast) has been undeniable.

I never really bought Eazy-E as a front man; his voice was just a little too high, and his stature was just a little too meek. I was more of a fan of the technical expertise of Dr. Dre, and this movie (produced by both Dre and Ice Cube) makes Dre a Mozart with composing beats for hip hop. However, Jason Mitchell's performance as E lends a convincing air of authority as man who was able to rally a group together to become a team.