This biopic was my most anticipated movie of the year and did it meet my expectations? Yes, and it actually exceeded them. This film directed by F. Gary Gray relays the tale of the creation and falling out of hip-hop's most popular group NWA.
O'Shea Jackson Jr. portrays his father Ice Cube, Corey Hawkins plays Dr. Dre, Jason Mitchell helms Eazy-E, Neil Brown Jr. takes the role of DJ Yella, and Aldis Hodge plays MC Ren. The actors overall did a great job at their roles. Hawkins did a fitting job in the role of Dr. Dre and Hodge was good enough as MC Ren as I couldn't critic a lot on his performance as Ren probably had the least amount of screen time for any member, but Mitchell embodied Eazy-E. You fall deep into his portrayal and truly feel that he is Eric Wright. Him looking a bit like him also helps quite a bit, but his performance is not to be shunned. I can't say the same for Jackson Jr. While he does look remarkably like Ice Cube, on the acting ability he leaves a bit to be desired. He is not terrible, but he's obviously not a trained actor and I felt a slight disconnect a couple of times in his performance. Brown was sort of in the sidelines in the film, but he did a decent job at his portrayal of DJ Yella.
As far as the cinematography and editing goes I feel I can't make valid criticisms on it without a rewatch, but nothing particularly bad or exceptional stuck out to me. The movie is well paced throughout 95% of it. The story beats hit on target and the characters aren't mythologized at all. You see flaws in all of them, but they do leave out some of the more controversial aspects of the group like when Dr. Dre assaulted journalist Dee Barnes for slandering him and it was rumored that he abused Michel'le as well. The movie does however make sure to show how dirty and vile Suge Knight is. It is not surprising to me though considering Ice Cube and Dr. Dre were producers on the project. Aside from that I also felt that the movie ended a bit abruptly. The ending just felt weird to me. This is still a great movie however and in my opinion the best one to come out this year. This is a recommend of the highest degree.
Great review!
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