10 Years Later, This Gritty Music Biopic Is One of the Biggest Streaming Hits in the World

Everyone bemoans the music biopic and its hackneyed tropes, but there’s a reason why studios keep churning them out: As seen with Michael, which became the rare non-franchise/IP movie to gross over $1 billion, these films routinely print money. Globally beloved music artists like Michael Jackson and Queen are IP in their own right, and these films often draw a massive audience simply because they include hits from the artist’s catalog. Every once in a while, though, audiences are blessed with a music biopic that hits like a great pop song you could listen to over and over again. Straight Outta Compton, released in 2015, didn’t try to upend the genre notorious for its rigid archetypes; instead, director F. Gary Gray (who, before helming studio blockbusters, directed countless ’90s rap/R&B music videos, most notably Ice Cube’s “It Was a Good Day”) told the story of N.W.A., and its star rappers Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, and Ice Cube, with integrity, pristine craft, and a genuine passion for the rap group’s work and their importance to the music industry. Now available to stream on Netflix, where it’s among the top 10 most-streamed films in the company’s library, Straight Outta Compton still hasn’t missed a beat.

‘Straight Outta Compton’ Works With a Familiar Formula

The vast majority of music biopics cover the storied careers of rock stars, folk heroes, and other pop artists, but rarely does hip-hop receive its fair share of big-screen dramatization. N.W.A., the Compton-based rap group formed in 1987, was as worthy of a biopic as any artist in modern history, as their short-lived but seismic tenure involved bad blood between members, intense media scrutiny surrounding the group’s lyrical content, and the rise of the gangsta rap subgenre. Straight Outta Compton, produced by Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, and Tomica Woods-Wright, widow of Eazy-E, oftentimes evokes the feeling of a documentary; most true to life of all is the casting of Cube’s own son, O’Shea Jackson Jr., to play his own father.

The film, which also stars Corey Hawkins as Dre, Jason Mitchell as Eazy-E, and Aldis Hodge as MC Ren, does unfortunately suffer from many of the familiar biopic setbacks. Cube and Dre’s producer credits signaled that the film would hardly be an unbiased, skeptical look at the artists’ lives and careers. The lack of impartial creativity has frequently haunted the music biopic, since artists will only lend rights to their catalog if they approve the film’s content. The film also can’t help but devolve into a glorified Wikipedia page in its third act—rushing through each member’s solo careers and spotlighting cameos from future rap luminaries like Snoop Dogg and Tupac Shakur.

‘Straight Outta Compton’ Offers Rare Emotional Clarity and Peeks Into the Artistic Process

Still, Straight Outta Compton overcomes the genre’s recycled tropes. In both quiet and loud scenes, Gray captures the essence of N.W.A.’s ruthless aggression and blunt provocations. Unlike most music biopics, which merely use an artist’s work to track their narrative arc, Straight Outta Compton shows genuine interest in the artistic process. The best scenes depict the members writing and recording their soon-to-be iconic tracks; this could be rudimentary, but Gray directs these exchanges with emotional clarity. For them, music wasn’t about fame, but rather an opportunity to express thoughts and ideas for a marginalized community (even if the execution often contained flagrant misogyny).

Gray’s chops as a music video director come alive in the recording and concert scenes. There’s nothing perfunctory about watching Eazy-E perform “Boyz-n-the-Hood” or Ice Cube write and perform with blazing fury “F— tha Police.” These don’t check off obligatory historical beats—they speak to N.W.A.’s enduring legacy as true cultural mavericks. The electric concert sequences, brimming with tension as the threat of police apprehension looms, immerse the viewer in this watershed moment in modern history. Both a bonding experience and a toxic chasm that turns the members against each other in a vicious feud, Straight Outta Compton shows how the rap genre transcends lyrics and beats to speak to something more profound about civil rights, police brutality, and Black empowerment.

Above all else, Straight Outta Compton is an enthralling viewing experience with endless re-watch value. The film’s flaws, as it goes with many inferior biopics, are masked by its array of stellar performances, including the scene-stealing Paul Giamatti as the group’s conniving, selfish manager, Jerry Heller. O’Shea Jackson Jr. is uncanny as his father circa the late ’80s and early ’90s, giving a textured and sensitive performance that defies all nepotism allegations. With N.W.A.’s legacy and cultural reputation continuing to thrive, Straight Outta Compton will always have an audience.

Straight Outta Compton

Release Date

August 14, 2015

Runtime

147 minutes

Director

F. Gary Gray

Writers

Andrea Berloff, Jonathan Herman