I fail to see what all the fuss and accolades toward Straight Outta Compton is about. Yes,
it’s a good movie, well written and acted with a cast of mostly unknown and
inexperienced actors. But as a musical biopic, what does it really bring to the
table that hasn’t been done countless times before?
The story of the rise of the rap group N.W.A. from a
group of friends making music together to a national voice for the powerless
inner city black youths in America and FBI pariah is certainly not
uninteresting. We’ve all heard of Dr. Dre and Ice Cube. This is where they got
their start. Eric “Easy-E” Wright died twenty years ago while DJ Yella and MC
Wren are the lesser known members of the group. That Dre and Cube worked as
producers on the project should not go unmentioned because it’s pretty clear in
the film’s narrative which characters are highlighted most prominently. It’s
also worth pointing out that their characters come off as the most morally
upstanding while Eric Wright, no longer alive to defend himself, comes across
(in spite of a lovely redemption at the end) as the instigator of strife within
the group.
