Allow me to start with a confession.
What I know about Compton can be summarised by this picture:
Yes they're cheerleaders, but they're financially challenged cheerleaders.
Anyway the point is, the film Straight Outta Compton, which chronicles the rise of hip hop group NWA, is arguably not my cup of tea. I may or may not have told someone it was about The Beastie Boys before I'd really read up on it.
I really thought I wouldn't enjoy it at all but the great joy of low expectation is the potential for it to be exceeded, as it was when I watched this film. Same can be said of the friend I saw it with. Double endorsement!
I enjoyed watching the dramatisation of how this group of young guys fought to make their musical dreams come true in the face of considerable adversity. That said, at 2.5 hours long it was 1 hour too long.
It's going gangbusters at the US box office which is a great sign. And The Guardian's Mark Kermode gave it 3 out of 5 stars which is about right for me.
Trailer here.