Spike Island

I was a teenager in 1990 when this film was set and The Stone Roses formed a backdrop to my angsty early 90s teenage years. The use of music, clothing, hairstyles etc. in this film is very evocative and true to the era and positively influenced my score above what it probably really deserves.

The story itself doesn't really know what it wants to be. Most of the film is light comedy romp, a fun celebration of youth, but after coming to a seemingly ecstatic climax, we get an unexpectedly harsh comedown of an ending. Whilst this improves the film overall, a bit too much drama is injected in too short a time which jars with the tone and pace of rest of the film.

The UK is good at this...creating great cinema. Some of the drivel Hollywood is churning out at the moment (constant re-boots because they have frankly run out of ideas), makes you realise how good the UK film industry is at this game. I enjoyed this film immensely. One reason- I remember the time and music-I was 25 when this film was set, and I remember the big furore around The Stone Roses. I didn't fall for it myself at the time. I was (and still am) a big fan of New Order, and they for me were the greatest Manchester band, but fair play to the fans of the Roses, everyone likes different things. The film is a bright, very watchable, and at times funny experience, each character played very well. The film doesn't always follow the rules of predictability-I won't spoil it, but certain aspects could have turned out differently, but the writers didn't go down that route, and I found it better for it. All in all, if you like The Stone Roses it's a no brainer-see this film. Music fan? See this film. Great soundtrack too. 8/10.

It's May 1990, Great Britain, and The Stone Roses are about to play a monumental outdoor gig at Spike Island in Widnes, Cheshire. A bunch of teenage acolytes of the band, aspiring musicians themselves, embark on a journey to Spike Island whist at the same time embarking on personal journeys of the real life kind.

Us Brits do like ourselves a coming of age drama set to the backdrop of musical importance. Mat Whitecross (Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll) taps into the era of Baggy Manchester, of a Northern Britain dominated by pills, thrills and romantic bellyaches. To many of a certain age The Stone Roses were "their" Beatles, a power pop foursome that rocked it big time, their influence on the British music industry is still being felt today. This in spite of their relatively short life span. Re: The Sex Pistols at Winterland, see The Stone Roses at Spike Island (in other words it was a pretty awful gig all told).

However, the band are secondary to the teen angst narrative threads, to the scallywag japes and sexual growing pains. As Messrs Ian Brown and John Squire weave their chordal magic in the background, a bunch of spotty Herbert's with mad mac haircuts and iffy accents try and make sense of it all, of life, death, loves and hates. Music binds them together, but does anything else?

It's all very formulaic stuff, but for those of the time, or for those with a love for how music can define your life, or at the least shape its direction, then this hits the requisite chords. It's funny at times and the cast are ebullient enough to carry the clichéd and thin material home, but come the finale you will be remembering the soundtrack more than the story itself. 6.5/10

As a British person, I felt a personal connection to this film - trust me, it got everything spot on! I liked this film a lot - it was your typical film bout a group of friends going on an adventure (Think Stand By Me if the characters were older and a lot more obsessed with girls and pop rock bands). It was fun, there were lot of laughs. But it was also more than that. It dealt with a lot of issues, subtly at least. The emphasis was on the music, but the underlying angst was there. I can't exactly put my finger on why I enjoyed this movie so much, but there it is: I liked it. Definitely worth a watch, and, of course, a listen to that soundtrack.

I didn't watch this movie for the Stone Roses reference, The Stone Roses are of no particular interest of mine, I have nothing against them it's just the music simply isn't my scene.

Having read reviews on here after watching this movie, I seemed to rate it more than many others and the factor which I believed allowed me to enjoy it more, was ironically, my non-existing interest in The Stone Roses. If you went into this movie solely on the basis that it is marketed with the Stone Roses i believe you would be disappointed. Spike Island is a run of the mill, coming of age, British indie flick. It's a very familiar story, Five lads from Manchester who are all in their last year of school travel to Spike Island in hope of watching the Stone Roses in concert. The usual story of falling outs, romance, friendship, loyalty and most of all growing up are covered in this movie. The Stone Roses are really a back story, a focal point of their interests but it is not relevant in the story or character development. The acting is good, but the characters lack any real substance. They all seem very clichéd and predictable, the manc accent is also overdone at times, we get that you're from Manchester, its based around the Stone Roses!

Overall Spike Island is a feel good, entertaining watch with good acting and a pleasant if not clichéd, storyline.

7/10