Review Roundup: 1980s Hip-Hop is Brought to Life in STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON

In 1987, five young men, using brutally honest rhymes and hardcore beats, put their frustration and anger about life in the most dangerous place in America into the most powerful weapon they had: their music. Taking us back to where it all began, STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON tells the true story of how these cultural rebels-armed only with their lyrics, swagger, bravado and raw talent-stood up to the authorities that meant to keep them down and formed the world's most dangerous group, N.W.A. And as they spoke the truth that no one had before and exposed life in the hood, their voice ignited a social revolution that is still reverberating today.

STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON was directed by F. Gary Gray and written by Jonathan Herman and Andrea Berloff. The film stars O'Shea Jackson Jr., Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, Neil Brown Jr., Aldis Hodge, and Marlon Yates Jr.

Let's see what the critics had to say!

Manohla Dargis, New York Times: The movie acknowledges the larger agonizing picture, but mostly it celebrates a crew of Horatio Algers of another color who become crossover kings turned establishment titans. To that expedient end, contradictions bristle rather than explode in a movie that speaks to fighting the power (to borrow a message from another music legend) that it also embraces. It's another story of ultimate outsiders turned ultimate insiders, which makes it as blissfully American as apple pie, low riders and gangster rap itself.

Peter Travers, Rolling Stones: Straight Outta Compton plays better when it's outside the box, showing us N.W.A power and the consequences of abusing it. Would the movie be better if it didn't sidestep the band's misogyny, gay-bashing and malicious infighting? No s. But what stands is an amazement, an electrifying piece of hip-hop history that speaks urgently to right now.

Scott Foundas, Variety: The ferocious rhymes of hip-hop icons N.W.A.'s controversial 1988 anthem "F-k tha Police" scarcely seem to have aged when they blast on to the soundtrack of "Straight Outta Compton," echoing into a world where the abuse of black Americans at the hands of law-enforcement officials remains common headline news. But if "Compton" is undeniably of the moment, it's also timeless in its depiction of how artists and writers transform the world around them into angry, profane, vibrant and singular personal expression. A conventional music-world biopic in outline, but intensely human and personal in its characterizations and attention to detail, director F. Gary Gray's movie is a feast for hip-hop connoisseurs and novices alike as it charts the West Coast rap superstars' meteoric rise, fractious in-fighting and discovery that the music business can be as savage as the inner-city streets. A very smart piece of counter-programming in a summer dominated by lily-white tentpole movies, Universal's Aug. 14 opener should keep the studio clocking much dollars at the late-summer box office.

Katey Rich, Vanity Fair: A Hollywood biopic is not necessarily the best way to honor N.W.A.'s influence on pop culture-the songs still speak plenty well for themselves, and Dr. Dre's and Ice Cube's continued presence in pop culture keeps the legacy alive. But as a launching pad for its young actors, a fascinating look at the racial politics of the 1990s that don't seem so far removed from today, and an opportunity to recapture the raucous energy of an N.W.A. performance, Straight Outta Compton earns its place in the pantheon of biopics that are good, just not as great as the artists who inspired them.

Ann Hornaday, The Washington Post: N.W.A.'s music might have fused seamlessly with the larger youth culture's sense of rebellion. But there's never been any doubt that their outrage was specific, personal and, as Gray depicts it, acutely socially aware. As enlightening as it is entertaining, as sobering as it is exhilarating, "Straight Outta Compton" reminds viewers not only who N.W.A. were and what they meant, but also why they mattered - and still do.

Jordan Hoffman, The Guardian: With biopics of living musicians, there is always a conflict of interest. You need to have the creators on board if you want to feature the songs that made them noteworthy. And by the end of the film, everyone has to end up smelling like roses. The first half of Straight Outta Compton, F Gary Gray's two-and-a-half hour opus about the birth of west coast gangsta rap, is bursting with energy, exuberance and inspiration. The second half is immobilised by bloat and sanctification. There are, as they say, some truly dope cuts up in here, but there's plenty of filler, too.

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: For a film whose producers include Cube and Dre, it's surprisingly candid in its depiction of the group's misogyny, though Dre's '91 assault on rapper/interviewer Denise "Dee" Barnes - he pleaded no contest - isn't mentioned. But there's plenty to admire about "Straight Outta Compton," including its lively evocation of a time and place, pointed direction by longtime Cube collaborator Gray, rousingly staged performances and uniformly excellent acting.

Jim Farber, New York Daily News: "Compton" has more on its mind than music. It touches on themes of ingrained poverty and pathology, the contrast between official justice and the street kind, as well as the importance of black entrepreneurship. What starts in the streets ends in the boardrooms, ultimately making "Compton" a major story of America.

Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly: Gray does his best to keep the momentum going while jumping back and forth between storylines, but with so much ground to cover, he lets certain threads slip from his grasp. At one point, Dre leads the police on a high-speed car chase, gets arrested, and it's never mentioned again. It's a tribute to how compelling N.W.A's story is that you almost don't care about narrative lapses like that. Straight Outta Compton is a hugely entertaining film that works best if you don't look at it too closely and just listen.

John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter: Biopics about bands consisting of equals are far rarer than those about solo artists, and for good reason: Try doing justice to even three performers' rise from obscurity to fame, especially if they then veer in different directions, and you hardly have time to develop the stars as human characters. SoStraight Outta Compton, about the fractious career of gangsta-rap doorbusters N.W.A., turns into a bio-epic, running well over two hours without even mentioning the competing strands of hip-hop (from Public Enemy's righteous anger to the feel-good vibes of De La Soul) that, by contrast, made N.W.A.'s furious sound so upsetting to so many people.

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