The general buzz around Straight Outta Compton online was very positive so I was excited to go watch the movie on my first weekend back. I wanted to see how well the movie managed an ensemble cast of characters while keeping the plot moving.
The introduction to the characters was a little rough as it was hard to distinguish important characters, and their motivations. However, the movie quickly recovered as the lead characters united and started their journey. The performance by Jason Mitchell, Eazy-E, was more or less the center piece of the story. As you got to see his rise with the rest of the group, and ultimately his fall as his friends abandoned him due to the embezzling manager. The portrays of Ice Cube and Dre were also strong. It is rare to have such a large cast and have so many successful performances.
Another strong point was how the story was kept moving and never stayed in one spot too long. Of course, it stayed in few parts for too little of a time. It would’ve been fun to see more screen time of the beginning of the group; however, that would’ve detracted from the ending.
One of my favorite things was the movie showed us glimpses in the personal lives of Dre, Ice Cube, and Eazy-E which helped highlight their growth through out the story. Overall, I really enjoyed the story itself, but moreover the acting and directing. It is not often that a movie gets so many little things right.
Hey Ivan! I agree that it was a really great movie, but for deeper reasons. Yes, the actors portrayed their characters well, but I think the purpose of the movie was greater than simply portraying rappers’s personal lives. In my opinion, this film was created for the purpose of telling the story and hardships of an entire race in the 80s, a time well after the Civil War and the established ‘equality’ of all man. I mean that’s what NWA was all about. I was wondering if a deeper analysis of the purpose of the film changed your opinion at all?