STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON (15)
4 stars
Whenever Hollywood immortalises pages from history at 24 frames per second, it’s wise to take each lustrous dramatisation with a pinch of salt.
Rigorous factual accuracy is often sacrificed at the altar of artistic licence.
In the case of F. Gary Gray’s engrossing film, you will need to grab bulging fistfuls of sodium chloride.
Not only are two of the key protagonists of this rags to musical riches biopic listed as executive producers, one of the men – rapper turned actor Ice Cube – is portrayed on screen by his own son.
The faint whiff of nepotism is overpowered by heady fumes of whitewash from Jonathan Herman and Andrea Berloff’s script, which neglects to address accusations of misogyny and homophobia levelled at California hip hop collective N.W.A.
Regardless of the rosy tint to director Gray’s lens, Straight Outta Compton is a fascinating portrait of youthful exuberance, raw ambition and racial divide that rubs some of that salt into the deep wounds inflicted since the police shooting of teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson.
The film opens in 1986, with pals Dr Dre (Corey Hawkins), Eazy-E (Jason Mitchell), Ice Cube (O’Shea Jackson jun), MC Ren (Aldis Hodge) and DJ Yella (Neil Brown jun) searching for an outlet for their creativity.
Tensions are high between police and black youths – random stops and searches are an unwelcome part of neighbourhood life.
“I’m the only gangster round here,” snarls one officer.
With gentle persuasion from his buddies, Eazy-E sets up his own label, Ruthless Records, and the group’s first release, Boyz-n-the-Hood, piques the interest of Jerry Heller (Paul Giamatti).
He sweet-talks Eazy-E into becoming the band’s manager.
“What does N.W.A. stand for? No Whites Allowed?” asks Jerry naively.
An electrifying live performance leads to a deal with Priority Records founded by Bryan Turner (Tate Ellington).
Ice Cube grows increasingly concerned about Easy-E’s close working relationship with Heller and the absence of contracts for the rest of the group.
Eventually, he leaves and goes solo, sparking a bitter war of rhymes between the former bandmates.
Ice Cube aligns himself with Suge Knight (R. Marcus Taylor) and together they establish Death Row Records.
Meanwhile, Dr Dre also turns his back on Easy-E and N.W.A. and channels his energy into working as a producer for other acts, including Snoop Dogg (Keith Stanfield) and Tupac Shakur (Marcc Rose).
Straight Outta Compton might run to a holler short of two-and-a-half hours, but Gray’s film has sufficient swagger to hold our attention.
Hawkins, Mitchell and Jackson jun deliver accomplished performances as the sometimes deluded pioneers of a hip hop revolution.
Musical performances pulse with energy, including a standoff with police at a concert that culminates in a riot.
This might not be the whole uncomfortable truth, but what we are allowed to see hits the right notes.
HITMAN: AGENT 47 (15)
3 stars
Based on the hugely successful Hitman videogames, Aleksander Bach’s frenetic action thriller hopes to atone for the sins of a drab 2007 film version headlining Timothy Olyphant. Unfortunately, a new lick of paint and some breathlessly choreographed fight sequences can’t disguise the same fatal flaw.
Like so many screen adaptations of videogames, Hitman: Agent 47 fails to replicate the adrenalin-pumping visceral thrill of assuming control of an iconic character and nervously guiding them through the digital realm.
The agonising sense of responsibility, which draws beads of sweat on a player’s brow, are completely lost on an audience sitting comfortably in the dark of an air-conditioned cinema.
Evidently, director Bach loves the games and he orchestrates action set-pieces confidently, punctuated by slow-motion acrobatics and explosions.
A prolonged bout of bone-crunching hand-to-hand combat on the tracks of the Berlin underground and a high-speed pursuit around a multistorey car park are high points.
Once the bullets have all been discharged, vehicles wrecked and necks snapped, the film offers little in the way of characterisation, plot or emotional nuance.
The protagonist is a genetically engineered assassin called Agent 47 (Rupert Friend), who carries out high-profile contracts assigned to him by his handler, Diana (Angelababy).
Known by a barcode tattoo on the back of his neck, 47 is the product of years of scientific tinkering, which has imbued him with unrivalled intelligence, speed, stamina and strength . . . until the next iteration.
Diana orders 47 to hunt down and kill Dr Litvenko (Ciaran Hinds), mastermind of the Agent program.
A huge corporation called Syndicate International, fronted by Le Clerq (Thomas Kretschmann), is also looking for Litvenko and intends to use his groundbreaking research to create an unstoppable army of obedient trained killers.
The only way to flush the scientist out of hiding is by using his daughter Katia (Hannah Ware) as bait.
Unfortunately, she has also vanished off the grid.
Agent 47 tracks her down in Berlin, where battle ensues between the hitman and her enigmatic protector, John Smith (Zachary Quinto).
The balance of power tips back and forth between 47 and Smith, and Katia must decide who – if anyone – she trusts.
“Don’t put your faith in me, you’ll be disappointed,” growls 47.
Hitman: Agent 47 is a tiny improvement on the 2007 film, but it’s a close call.
Friend is suitably lifeless as the gun-toting antihero, expertly performing fight choreography including a couple of bruising showdowns with Quinto.
Ware is equally bland yet considerably more emotional as the pawn in a game that unknowingly she controls.
Kretschmann doesn’t have sufficient screen time to put meat on the bones of his lacklustre villain, who swipes angrily at a touchscreen desk as his masterplan falls apart.
Bach’s film obligingly follows suit.