Skillfully Executed Biopic

Rating: 9/10 (22 August 2015)

Just a little background: I am a very avid hip hop fan, familiar with NWA's music and a huge fan of Dr. Dre's solo career. This certainly added to my enjoyment of the film, but my brother, who is not familiar with much of NWA or pre-2010's rap music, enjoyed it as well.
About the movie: S.O.C. is a captivating chronicle of the formation and dissolution of one of hip hop's most notorious groups. Overall, I was very impressed with the casting and the acting was great, too. Each actor bore a striking resemblance to the artist they portrayed, even down to manners of speaking and movements This may have been easiest for O'Shea, who was acting as his father, but I was especially impressed with Corey Hawkins as Dr. Dre and Jason Mitchell as Eazy-E. I've heard varied critiques of the accuracy of story, but I was too young to experience this in real life, so I can't comment either way. Regardless of how honest the plot was throughout, it was fun to have musical milestones to follow, specifically in the form of each album released.
If you're a fan of hip hop and are even remotely interested in the history of NWA, you should find yourself enjoying S.O.C. That being said, if you are NOT a fan of hip hop culture, you might find this movie disgusting. I've seen so many 1 star ratings on here, citing the excessive profanity and glorification of violence, which I find humorous because it's no secret that this was the nature of gangsta rap and NWA. You can't walk into this expecting some polished and safe biopic like "Imitation Game" or "Theory of Everything." The poster itself has the movie's title written in the form of a parental warning sticker. I will say that as far as profanity and sexual content is concerned, this movie is actually below the level that we saw in "Wolf of Wall Street" a couple years ago; this leads me to believe that some folks are harboring extra offense because the film is entirely black (actors, director, subjects) and the "enemies" are white (cops specifically). As Ice Cube says during the movie, "our art is a reflection of our reality." Police brutality and gang violence continue to be issues today, so if these themes disturb you, you should be equally disturbed by the real events that occur in America.
I understand that this movie isn't for everyone, but if you've got thick skin and a respect for hip hop culture and the freedom of expression, you should have a great time.