Rock Star

source: Rock Star

source: Rock Star

This is the movie that is somewhat based on the exit of Rob Halford from British Metal Gods 'Judas Priest' and how the band replaced him with Ripper Owens, who used to front a Priest tribute band. Originally titled Metal God this movie could have been something great. Instead, someone in an office somewhere who knows little to nothing about metal music decided to water it down. From the title change of Metal God to the 'safe' middle of the road 'Rock Star' to the lame soundtrack this movie plays out badly. Having spent most of my life in a professional metal band I was really looking forward to seeing this, I was very let down by several points of the film. The soundtrack is very NOT metal for one, and the ending of the movie is lame as well. The movie does have a few bright spots in the writing and acting but as a whole, it fails in the end because...1)A movie based on a metal band should have a metal soundtrack. 2)There is NOTHING metal about Marky Mark or Jennifer Aniston. If Bon Jovi, Warrant, Def Leppard and Poison are your idea of 'heavy metal' go see this movie. If Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Dio & Black Sabbath are your idea of metal see this movie for a good laugh.

Rock Star tells the story of the lead singer of a tribute band who get's to live out his dreams on a much grander stage. Starring Mark Wahlberg, Jennifer Aniston, Timothy Spall and Timthy Olyphant it certainly doesn't lack star power. As you'd imagine being a movie about classic/glam rock the soundtrack is fantastic, right up there among the best of them though shatter any illusions you may have that it was Wahlberg singing. It's big, it's stylish and to my knowledge it's pretty damn accurate so why am I not rating this higher? I like the cast, I'm an old school rocker myself and on paper this should be a guaranteed tick in the win column from me. The construction of a movie is simple, you need a beginning a middle and an end and Rock Star has that but in a rather disjointed way. The films construction is my biggest grip, it comes across more like a Behind the Music episode than an actual movie. The protagonist walks away having learned several life lessons but the viewer (Or rather in this viewers case) it felt more empty than it should have. Rock Star is an interesting enough look at a subject rarely touched upon by the mainstream Hollywood movie industry but perhaps needed an additional 30+ minute to really flesh it out. The Good: Great cast Awesome soundtrack Some brilliant visuals First movie ever to make Timothy Spall a successful "Good guy" The Bad: Olyphant feels wasted Oddly built I struggled to feel for our leads Things I Learnt From This Movie: Jennifer Aniston holds the secret of eternal youth They could/should have found Wahlberg a better wig Ballet is where rock stars go to die

No emotion. Bad music (and I am a reformed eighties metal guy, so I would be vulnerable to some good stuff.) Everything is half done. The brother is a parody, there is nothing to hold us in except to see what horror from the eighties they'll pull up next. The tour manager tries to bring a humanity to the thing but isn't given enough time. Wahlberg is okay and Aniston is slumming. We know she didn't need the money. Is this the only role she could fit into her summer break? Surely she must slap her forehead every time it pops up on VH1--which is only slightly less often than Ozzy does. It barely qualifies as a TV movie. It's just hard to believe that it was actually released theatrically.

WARNING - POSSIBLE SPOILERS! 'Rock Star' is one of the solid rock movies I have ever seen. The original idea of the script focuses on a young singer in the 80s, leading a tribute band of one of the most famous hard rock bands of the period. He is not only playing their music to the note, but also living the life of his idols. When his friends in the tribute band expel him, in search of some originality, the destiny plays him a good turn, and gets hired to replace the lead singer of the idols band. A dream came true? Well, almost. While starting to live the life of the famous, including the drug and sex excesses of the rock scene of the 80s, he will also have to face the problems in relationship with his supportive girlfriend, and will be eventually need to answer questions about creativity and having a saying in the music of the band. I liked the film, one of the reasons being that it is one of the first times that the life and music of the hard metal rock bands is shown in a realistic manner. Fans of the music genre will be satisfied by the soundtrack. The overall idea is original, and the issues of how an artist lives his life and creates his art are being rendered in a sensible and balanced manner. Acting is quite good, with Mark Wahlberg better than in most of the other action flics I saw him lately, and Jennifer Aniston in tune with the nice-girl-who-knows-a-lot-about-life role. More problematic is the ending, which is quite conventional, and may disappoint. It looks like the main character after quiting the big and famous band has found his own creative path. However, in an ironical twist the music he is playing in the club at the end is the worst in the whole movie! 8/10 on my personal scale. Worth seeing - however, expect exposure to a high dose of metal. If you do not like this kind of music, you may chose to avoid this film.

Well........how and where do I start to describe this utter nonsense? Imagine the morals of a cheesy Hollywood Western, throw in a lavish helping of the most trite soap opera storyline, and try to dupe the kids into thinking its cool by dressing it up to be about something 'contemporary'. This film is all package and absolutely no substance. It starts with promise......young men dreaming of becoming rockstars and engaging in the kind of excessive hero-worship everyone can laugh at. After that, it all goes downhill.....quicker than a bobsleigh with no brakes. The scene involving the first gig with Steel Dragon is one of the most pathetic pieces of 'cine kitsch' I have seen in a long time. The singer appears on stage for his debut and falls down some stairs.....will he get up and sing???......or will he stay there on the floor and not sing......who cares by now?? It gets worse, but I don't want to bore myself by having to remember it in all its excruciating detail. If you watch it after this review, its your own fault!

This movie had the potential to be great. It started out with an interesting idea: small town guy worships famous band then gets the chance to perform for thousands as a member of the band he worships. The problem is that the great idea was badly handled with an inept script. I enjoyed the music, but the story left a lot to be desired. Wahlberg did okay in his part, particularly in the concert scenes. But I felt that Jennifer Anniston was all wrong for this film. I totally did not believe that she would fall for a guy as goofy as Chris/Izzy. He reminded me of a big, dumb puppy. Also, the emphasis on the "rockin'" parents and the scenes of the mom's home daycare center made the movie seem too cute and cuddly...cute and cuddly do not fit in a movie about metal music! The use of real metal musicians as band members was interesting...but most of the musicians were bad actors. I know it won't happen, but it'd be great if another movie centering on the rock music world could be made...this time with a better script. An updating of the Barbra Streisand/Kris Kristofferson movie "A Star is Born' remade as "A Rock Star is Born" would work nicely.

And he was so right: The worst music pretending to be metal. No metal or hard rock fan will like this incredibly wimpy cliched garbage. Lame performances, especially in concerts. This band would stay unknown. Every cliche in the book in its storyline. Aniston is a decade too old to be believable, and looks it. Marky Mark's wig, stage clothes, and stage moves are something Wilson Phillips and Barry Manilow would find too lame to be rock music. And Marky's attempt at alternative rock at the end is just as forgettable. Every good rock music has a good soundtrack at its core. Did this? NO! Did the awful band get famous from this? No! Steel Dragon were never heard from again. And when your "metal" film includes Culture Club, you know it's lame. Even Marky Mark and Aniston contribute some musical atrocities to this piece of junk. So who is this film made for? The dummies who believe the cliches, who think the Bryan Adams concert they went to 30 years ago was "hard rock." All metal fans avoid, just like the public did 20 years ago.

ROCK STAR is a well-told Hollywood-style rendition of the tale based on fact actually on how Ripper became Rob Halford's replacement for Judas Priest. Mark Wahlberg poured on his likable boy-ish charm and performed with believable admirably, something he has been known to do since the release of BOOGIE NIGHTS. Stephen Herek, no stranger to musically-themed movies, takes the audience through the wonders of the breakneck lifestyle of an extinct species, the Hair-Metal Rock God. Wahlberg's "Izzy" acts as the film's host plays the everyman who gets to see his wish come true. His likable character quickly wins over the heart of the viewer, who wants to see him succeed and gets the chance to give him the Metal "goat horn" hand-sign several times over. The only real complaint with the story is that the supporting cast, namely the other members of the band, were not fleshed out, or even introduced, properly. More interaction with these life-long Rock musicians would have amplified and solidified Izzy's new surroundings. Naturally, ROCK STAR is filled with great music. Rabin's score, the Steel Dragon's original work and plenty of 80's-style Metal hits makes this soundtrack a must-have! Let's all hope that films like ROCK STAR not only give a credibility to a style of music that helped define a generation but also spark a very-needed revival.