The group NWA emerges from the mean streets of Compton in Los Angeles, California, in the mid-1980s and revolutionizes Hip Hop culture with their music and tales about life in the hood.
Straight Outta Compton is punchy, provocative and packed with attitude.
Straight Outta Compton soars for an hour before spiralling into a bloated, melodramatic mess. Still, it’s worth it for the early ferocity, capturing just how powerful N.W.A really were.
Potent and visceral in its depiction of street life and blinged-up excess alike, Straight Outta Compton delivers big beats of both kinds.
Director F Gary Gray sidesteps the misogyny and cocaine but does a good job of showing the pure electric craziness of the music that NWA created.
There is a lingering feeling that the film would have worked much better with a narrower and sharper focus.
A worthy monument to a key moment in rap history.
The sour notes are left by the film’s failure to acknowledge the band’s misogyny.
Although laden with rock-pic set pieces, this is an energy-packed drama full of conflict, on and off the stage.
It never feels less than authentic, directed with energy by F Gary Gray and acted superbly.
O'Shea Jackson Jr: the star who makes Straight Outta Compton a family affair
General release. Check local listings for show times.