A scene from the movie Straight Outta Compton. Photo / AP
A scene from the movie Straight Outta Compton. Photo / AP
Remember Dr Dre's brilliantly glamorous video for Still D.R.E? Where he and Snoop Dogg cruise around Compton in Chevys, bouncing on hydraulics and partying with bikini babes?
For the first half hour, Straight Outta Compton - the NWA movie that's been No. 1 at the US box office for three weeks - plays like an extended version of that clip.
Yes, NWA's rise was swift - and it's just as fast in the film that charts their exhilarating story.
It rushes through the rap group's formation, the creation of their 1989 debut album, and their rise to become hip-hop's biggest group - and an FBI target.
It's full of every rock star cliche you can handle: topless pool parties, drugs snorted off table tops and hotel room orgies. With the group's wise-cracking members Dre, Eazy E, Yella, Ice Cube and MC Ren on a roll with smack-talking manager Jerry Heller, Straight Outta Compton kicks off like a hip-hop version of that recent celebration of bro-dom, Entourage.
Thankfully it doesn't last. To borrow a well-worn rap phrase, shit quickly gets real.
Even the group's biggest fans might find coverage of NWA's nastier moments enlightening: plenty of time is spent chronicling Ice Cube's departure over contract disputes, and his subsequent trashing of a dodgy record exec's office; Heller's depiction is that of a manager in the middle of a money-spinning whirlwind he can't quite contain; while Eazy E's attempts to reunite NWA while struggling with illness could spark tears.
Aldis Hodge as MC Ren, Neil Brown Jr. as DJ Yella, Jason Mitchell as Eazy-E, O'Shea Jackson Jr. as Ice Cube and Corey Hawkins as Dr. Dre. Photo / AP
Likewise, the group's tense altercation with cops outside a music studio might have you screaming "F*** the police" along with the group.
That scene, along with real news reports about Rodney King and the LA riots, could explain why the film's release feels so prescient when America still struggles with many of the issues the group was rapping about.
Sure, as many have already pointed out, plenty of these scenes have been reimagined and embellished.
But Straight Outta Compton rises above other music bios with a collection of fine performances, especially Jason Mitchell as Eazy E, who nails E's lopsided walk, his touching first attempt at rapping, and his squeaky microphone presence, and O'Shea Jackson Jr, who perfects his dad Ice Cube's eyebrow arches and growing rage.
Hip-hop heroes on the big screen? Let's hope it's a growing trend.
Cast: Corey Hawkins, O'Shea Jackson Jr, Aldis Hodge, Paul Giamatti, Neil Brown Jr, Keith Stanfield Director:F Gary Gray Rating: R16 - Sex scenes, violence, drug use and offensive language Running time: Two hours 27 minutes Verdict: Vibrant tour through hip-hop history.
