Review: 'Straight Outta Compton' a biopic to its own beat

The new, very much authorized biopic of N.W.A, "Straight Outta Compton," aims to cement the legacy of the pioneering hip-hop group that brought gangsta rap to the mainstream and sparked endless culture debates.

[...] fully unpacking N.W.A and the era of hip hop the group kicked off remains a fool's errand.

"Straight Outta Compton," besides, is built on the abiding fierceness of the music, the unlikeliness of their hood-to-Hollywood journey and a talented young cast that handles the heavy weight of playing icons with unusual skill.

Especially entertaining are the early scenes that assemble the group: the pugnacious lyricist Ice Cube (Cube's son O'Shea Jackson Jr.), Easy-E, the older hustler with enough cash to pay for recording sessions (Jason Mitchell), Dr. Dre, the ambitious DJ schooled in James Brown and Funkadelic (Corey Hawkins), MC Ren (Aldis Hodge) and DJ Yella (Neil Brown Jr.).

The film, produced by Dr. Dre, Ice Cube and Easy-E's widow, Tomica Woods-Wright, begins to feel like a compromise of "Rashomon" perspectives: old friends still assigning blame (mostly on Heller and Knight), working through guilt (Easy-E died in 1995 after contracting AIDS) and finding a flattering version of the past they can all live with, even if it means touching on fiction.

Straight Outta Compton," a Universal Pictures release, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America for "language throughout, strong sexuality/nudity, violence, and drug use.