Rock Star

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

I've been looking forward to the release of this movie since I first heard the concept two years ago, and I was not disappointed. I won't bother summarizing the story since everyone else has, but I will say that it was just plain entertaining throughout. The performances were great, as was the music, and the main characters were likeable.

My only complaints are: (1) the story was definitely lacking; the movie wrapped up very abruptly- in fact the writing became pretty lax in the second half, as though the writers weren't sure what to do with the plot. Since the plot wasn't nearly as important as the music and the action, this didn't really affect the entertainment value of the film, so this is not as major a complaint as it would seem.

(2) This is really nitpicky, but the music that the characters in the movie were listening to was sometimes dated after 1985, when the movie was set. INXS' Devil Inside was from 1987 and AC/DC's Are You Ready was from 1990, among other mistakes. This bothers me a bit, since they obviously went to lengths to make a good period piece, they could have checked the copyright date on these songs to make sure they were 1985 or earlier. Again, not a big deal.

Oh, I thought of something else that was strange. The Steel Dragon band members were supposed to be English, but for some reason Dokken bassist Jeff Pilson and Ozzy guitarist Zakk Wylde played band members, and they each had a couple of speaking lines in AMERICAN accents. That was kind of lazy also, but it was still cool to see actual musicians playing musicians, so I will forgive that as well.

I could probably nitpick all day, but I don't want to give the impression that this wasn't a super entertaining movie. I will probably buy the DVD when it comes out, and I will certainly buy the soundtrack CD simply for the six Steel Dragon songs (some of which were sung by the singer from the band Steelheart, if you remember them!). The highlight of the film was possibly a great outtake where Mark Wahlberg is lipsynching to a rock song on stage and suddenly someone plays "Good Vibrations" by Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch. The surprised look of Mark's face is priceless. Classic rock and roll flick! Score: 8/10 due to extreme entertainment

As a huge fan of 80s Hard Rock, I was really looking forward to seeing Rock Star. As the movie started I was more than satisfied. A lot of the early scenes were funny and entertaining. The concert scenes made me feel like I was actually there. One major compliment I give this movie is that they made the songs from the fictional band STEEL DRAGON sound realistic for the time period the movie is in. If I didn't know better, I could've been fooled into thinking Steel Dragon was a real band, and all their songs actually were made in the mid 80s. The underdog portion of the story may not be original, but it still works none the less. And by the time Wahlberg's character was in his first concert with the band, I really thought Rock Star could be one of the coolest movies of the year.

But at about the halfway point, I was lost. The second half of this movie could've really used a lot of work on the script. I say that the second half of the script needed work, but what I should say is the second half of the movie actually could've used a script, period. The second half is held together by some predictable sequences, all telling the story of a guy indulging in the rock star life, which we've all heard and seen a thousand times. There were very few moments that actually were used to progress the story.

But I don't want to give the impression that Rock Star was no good. Although some of the movie didn't work, I still had a blast watching it. The music is what really holds it together. Both the original songs written for the film (Steel Dragon), and the background songs used. It's not often that you can hear bands like Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Kiss, and Motley Crue used in a movie. And like I said before, the concert scenes are awesome.So for people who love great 80s Rock, this movie will be a lot of fun.

Rock Star is an average movie, with an above average soundtrack. Not a perfect film, but it provides enough entertainment for your money.

Nothing really unpredictable in this movie, but a solid flick in all respects. Everything from acting to cinematography was solid. Not a perfectly linear plot line, but there wasn't anything you couldn't see coming. Perhaps a tad melodramatic at points, but again, a fairly decent movie none the less. Definitely worth checking out. If in doubt of what film to rent over the weekend, give this a go. Though you may not feel like running out and buying it, I found it to be quite worth while.

I must admit I wasn't expecting much on this movie. I was surprised I truly enjoyed it as much as I did. The script wasn't oscar material, but it wasn't horrible either. The acting was great by Mark Wahlberg. Jennifer Aniston had a great supporting role, and looked lovely as ever. What made this movie for me was the music. If you do not like 80's glam metal or hair bands, then you probably wont like this movie. Its all about being a rockstar. Some cliche's were present, but didn't bring down the movie at all. I would recommend it to anyone who likes rock and roll and remember to Stand up and Shout!!! 8 of 10 for great acting and awesome music.

Jason