Straight Outta Compton (2015/Legendary/Universal Blu-ray w/DVD)

Picture: B/C+ Sound: B/B- Extras: A+ Film: A-

Dr. Dre (Corey Hawkins), Eazy-E (Jason Mitchell), Ice Cube (O'Shea Jackson Jr.), MC Ren (Aldis Hodge) and DJ Yella (Neil Brown Jr.); see what they were like before they became kings of hip hop. 5 former gangsters from the slums of Compton who took the world by storm. They stepped up with their music, challenged the world, challenged the authorities as the N.W.A. Together they rose like stars rapped and dance about the lives they lived and saw, exposing life in the hood.

F. Gary Gray's Straight Outta Compton (2015) is an atypical from rags-to-riches story; 5 young men decided to stop being gangsters, selling drugs and sell music instead. With shocking lyrics and bravado they sang of the inequality and police brutality, of how inner city African Americans youths were treated in their times, how they could be arrested without evidence or just cause, how the world view them as drug dealers and gangsters, and how they couldn't/wouldn't amount to anything in life. Then, they showed how society ignored those problems, they encouraged youth and others to challenge the rules and authorities. With their famous song ''F$#! the Police'', they became notorious and considered dangerous role models for the youth. However, with their growing fame, they were brought down by own greed, corrupt managers, and the system itself.

You can take a person out of a gang, but you can never take the gangster out of a person. Based on a true story, this film gives an insight to what made the N.W.A. so popular and dangerous of their time. It was gangster-reality hip hop and it pointed out why so many people were trapped in a rat-race/racist society. In the end, even after their break up, it was only after the death of one of their own did they come to realize they had come so far... but did they really change so little? Paul Giamatti also stars.

The 1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image comes from a decent Red Epic Dragon HD camera shoot that may be flawed at times, but is pretty consistent throughout as lensed by Director of Photography Matthew Libatique (Chi-raq, Tigerland, Phone Booth, Darren Aranofsky's films), while the lossless DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 mix has kick when it kicks in, but is more reserved than expected as not to get in the way of the narrative. The anamorphically-enhanced DVD is much softer and weaker and its lossless Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is passable at best. Extras offer a ton of goodies including Extended and Deleted Scenes, Becoming N.W.A. featurette, deleted song performance, N.W.A. origins, impact, Director's Journey, filming in the streets of Compton, N.W.A. in Detroit, commentary and trailers.

- Ricky Chiang