Top: Ice Cube, F.Gary Gray (Director) and Dr. Dre
Bottom: Oshea Jackson, Jr, as Ice Cube, Jason Mitchell as Easy-E and Corey Hawkins as Dr. Dre.
Audiences left theatres across the country chanting “Straight Outta Compton.” Director F. Gary Gary painted a vivid picture of police brutality and the struggles of overcoming poverty in the 1980’s.
The “Straight Outta Compton” biopic depicted the story of NWA from individual and collective perspectives. Portraying the Ruthless Records team was Oshea Jackson Jr. as Ice Cube, Corey Hawkins as Dr. Dre, Aldis Hodge as DJ Ren, and New Orleans native Jason Mitchell as Eazy-E.
The movie is culturally relevant. The group’s story was depicted in a believable and relatable way. The R rating is definitely necessary due to harsh language and content, but what makes the film so geniune. The actors truly embodied their characters. The movie gives viewers a hip hop history lesson that young and old can appreciate.
The film gave details on the formation of NWA and their road to success. “Straight Outta Compton” also explained the roles of each member; Dr. Dre was the producer, DJ Ren the writer, Ice-cube was a rapper and Eazy-E was the investor and talent. Each used their skills to develop the group and label into a nationally recognized company.
The biopic was projected to bring in around 25 million in box office sales. The film nearly grossed that amount in one day. At only the second day in the box office “Straight Outta Compton” raked in 24.3 million dollars. The Business Insider reported the movie to have grossed 56.1 million dollars by the end of opening weekend.
Major news outlets also reported on the earnings of the biopic. Many were puzzled that the audiences were so mild mannered during the considerably violent film. However, most of NWA’s fan base is over the age of 35. We’d assume adults know how to conduct themselves during a movie.
Nevertheless, “Straight Outta Compton” thrilled audiences from varying demographics. The film brought to light past issues such as, police brutality that are still relevant today.