Straight Outta Compton Movie Review

“Straight Outta Compton” is a movie based on the lives of the Compton, California hip-hop group N.W.A from from 1986 to the early 2000’s. The movie focuses on the lives of O’Shea “Ice Cube” Jackson, Andre “Dr.Dre” Young, Eric “Eazy-E” Wright, Lorenzo “MC Ren” Patterson and Antoine “DJ Yella” Carraby.

It premiered in theaters on August 14, 2015, gained positive reviews and received over $124 million. Ice Cube and Dr. Dre also helped produce the movie. This flick is a must-see for people who are interested in having a music career, as well as people who just love music and those who write for fun.

The real N.W.A. group poses for a photo. Photo courtesy of pbs.twimg.com
The real N.W.A. group poses for a photo. Photo courtesy of pbs.twimg.com

The characters in the film are average teens living in the hood and trying to make a way out. Ice Cube and MC Ren are attending high school and are always writing down rhymes in their notebook. DJ Yella & Dr. Dre have jobs as dj’s, while Eazy-E sells drugs.They turn to music as an outlet to express what they experience in their everyday lives.

Throughout the movie, you see what projects each pursues and how they came to be so popular. The rappers came up with the idea to invest money into starting a music group, and, of course, Eazy-E was the money investor. Dr. Dre and DJ Yella, mainly Dr.Dre, produced the beats, while Ice Cube and MC Ren rapped. Eazy-E called the label Ruthless Records, which is what got the group heard around the city.

As a group, they began to produce many songs and even went on tour increasing their popularity and boosting their sale rates. Like other groups in the music industry, N.W.A. broke up because they weren’t under a fair contract with Ruthless Records, leaving Eazy-E standing on his own. Ice Cube started his own label, as well as Dr. Dre, but MC Ren and DJ Yella stayed by Eazy’s side.

Ice Cube is played by his son in the film. Photo courtesy of pbs.twimg.com
Ice Cube is played by his son in the film. Photo courtesy of pbs.twimg.com

Dr. Dre and Ice Cube were making good money on their own, while Eazy-E was going through money troubles due to his fraudulent music manager, Jerry Heller. Eventually Eazy-E came to his senses and noticed that Jerry was a fraud, but by this time, Eazy-E was dying and had lost his closest friends. Eazy-E was diagnosed with AIDS and later died on March 26, 1995.

“I thought the movie was longer than it needed to be,” said sophomore Patrick Jackson. “I thought this was a great movie because it gives people a chance to see what the music industry can be like. It also gives an insight on what some people experience in their everyday lives.

“I would say this movie made me think about life and friends in a different perspective, such as trusting others when it comes to life changing situations,” said Jackson.
“I think it was a good movie and that it kind of relates to society now. It’s crazy to see that what happened in the movie is still occurring today,” said sophomore Ashley Myers.

One thought on “Straight Outta Compton Movie Review

  1. Probably, “Straight Outta Compton” is one of the few musical biopic that can really make a strong impression. The film catches with its sincerity, its dissimilarity to ordinary biographical films, because here we see a member of the NWA group not as legendary celebrities, but as ordinary people, therefore while watching this movie you worry more about them. It’s only my opinion. Thanks for your review!

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