9/10
As far as biopics go, this one hits pretty much all of the good notes. The only criticism I can really level at it is that it's self-serving, but it wouldn't be the first biopic guilty of irreverence. To go along with that, the movie does a great job at portraying Eazy E as a complex central figure, but frustratingly refuses to cast judgement - was he a shrewder-than-he-looks businessman complicit in undercutting his N.W.A. cohorts, or was he as naïve as the rest of them, being taken advantage of by an unscrupulous manager?
I suppose it's only fair, though - all of the other main figures are still alive, and so control how they come across, and let's say nobody in the group comes out looking too badly. Cube a genius wordsmith, master intimidator and sharp businessman, Dre a genius producer, tortured over the death of his brother and trying to put food on the table for a family, etc.
The strength of the film by far is its acting, especially considering most hadn't appeared in major film roles before. At 2 and a half hours it somehow never really feels long - there are a couple of parts you could probably ditch (let's face it, 2-Pac is only really there so people can go hey, it's 2-Pac) but it remains taut despite its length, and never uninteresting throughout. Pretty close to perfection.
