My overall reaction: This is a terrific movie. I'm not much of a fan of rap music, not that I don't like it, rather I just don't follow it much (although that's changing with as it's a favorite musical genre of my teenage son). I thought the music in the movie was excellent, the social and historical context in which NWA rose to fame helping me to understand the lyrics and message more. This was not an easy story to tell. First off, there are three lead characters. Multiple protagonist stories are a big challenge. Audiences tend to like one character through which to enter into and experience a movie, one of the reasons there are so many single protagonist stories. So to tell the stories of Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, and Ice Cube, interweave them as they go on their collective and individual journeys, and imbue each of them with a coherent emotional throughline... as I say, a tough challenge. Also people's lives don't tend to lay out in three act structure, although Eazy-E's death and the way the others were coming around for a possible reunion did provide a pretty strong end point to accompany the Beginning -- formation of NWA -- and Middle -- rise to fame, then disintegration of the group. Finally, as far as general comments go, this is yet another movie in our ongoing series in which subplots play a HUGE role. When we get to plot, I'll focus my attention on that. If you're not a fan of rap music, no matter. You should check out this movie. The acting is excellent and the story, while a bit episodic at times, is really quite good. And the musical performances are cinematic and get you going.

I thought the movie was good. I'm a big fan of rap music and N.W.A but that was not a pre-requisite for watching the film. I think it's enjoyable either way. Agree with Scott's comments re 3 protagonists, Eazy-E, Dre and Ice Cube could easily have their own stories told individually so it was nice how the story was centred around the groups desire to achieve and be successful but ultimately how the inner workings of the group led to their striving for individual success. As expected with a film of this nature, the music played a big role and it was great to see snippets of some of the inspiration for songs that then became big for NWA or Dre or Ice Cube (where Dre is listening to songs on the bedroom floor). I thought the relatively unknown cast did well and there were particularly strong (in terms of recreating a character) performance from O'Shea Jackson Jr (Ice Cube) and Jason Mitchell (Easy-E). It was interesting as there was no particular protagonist so to speak opposing the groups success (you could argue the police and government) but their pressure was more a backdrop. Whereas the needs and desires of the individuals within the group (and Jerry) had a more direct impact on the direction of the group and individual characters. I though the use of historical context, (Rodney King tape, Watts riots etc) provided a perfect juxtaposition for the justification of songs such as F*** the police and the fact that even though it was termed 'Gangsta Rap' was really a group of young black men's insight into the reality of life in the streets in the late 80s and 90s in America. I feel that this was an important point to highlight for those who aren't rap fans as it does provide a good reference point for where the motivation behind the music came from. Overall I thought it was a strong film and thoroughly enjoyed it. Interested to see everyone's thoughts on this. Steve

Steve, I'm going to get into the lack of a specific Nemesis / Antagonist figure in the movie in Wednesday's post. Your point about historical context -- Watts riots, Rodney King tape, and general harassment by LAPD and other police officials -- was a huge creative decision, including those narrative elements. For someone such as myself who doesn't follow hip hop music all that much, it made the music that more powerful in terms of its significance. Concur about the casting. I would not be surprised to see Jason Mitchell (Eazy-E) and perhaps O'Shea Jackson Jr. (Ice Cube) receive some attention during award season. I also expect the movie to get some nominations, perhaps Golden Globe, and maybe even screenplay nom, too. It deserves some attention as it's an important movie, a well-done movie, and a commercially successful movie.

Finally got a chance to see this today. Loved it. Any film with music gets my attention, even when I don't know much about the style. As with "Notorious," I left with a much greater appreciation of the music, and how the story of these writers lives manifested in this style of music. ... lots of life and poetry in all forms of music, rap is no different. Re: the large cast, I think the film did a great job of introducing us in a meaningful way to all the characters -- everyone played a part in the story, and I didn't feel as though anyone was left on the sidelines. Also, a shout out to the intro credit designer ... placing their names on the walls was a nice touch. Two things I left the theater needing to find out via more research: what was the real deal on Jerry's theft from the guys, and why did "E" seem to play a part in it early on? Or, did he? And, second, in thinking about what you teach here on the blog, Scott ... what did each character need/want. I was also hunting for specific arcs which you guys touched upon as well. Overall, a great film, and being that I'm writing a music-themed piece myself, intimidating! ;-)