emalga
Oh the naive little Sherrie arrives in town, looking as dull as Christina Aguilera in Burlesque or Hayden Panettiere in Heroes. Too blond to have a brain, with a pop voice not so unique, all she can do is pole dance on the top of Mount Rushmore and flip her hair singing oooo yeeeaaaaah on each song. Too tacky, sorry. Now, supporting cast: Alec Baldwin, okay, he can pull it off. Drunk Russell Howard, meh, okay, his glory days as Katie Perry's hubby paid off. Paul Gimatti is famous for being the funny obnoxious assistant, so, sure, why not. But believe me when I'm telling you that the worst supporting act was from Mr. Cruise, Tom Cruise. Oh-so-ridiculous. Keith Sutherland or Rober Downey Jr could have been a MUCH BETTER one.To sum up: don't bother
purrfectfire
Maybe I started watching this movie under the wrong assumptions. I didn't know that this was a musical production going Hollywood to start with, but in the Netherlands it was sold as a fun portrait of the 80's rock scene.Well... though the songs reminded of that time, I was looking for the rock-part until the end of the movie. Every time an actor belts out a hit, you're reminded that the original, however cheesy, was better, rockier or more honest presented. Though the actors are not bad singers, it's way too clean, sweet, boyband-isch or pop-ish to be considered rock at all.It reminds me of all the great fairy tales, that have been polished to something entirely different by Disney. Rock of ages also feels like it had a treatment in the censorship washing machine.I am all for a good happy ending and also musicals are a bunch of fun, but if you try to portray a certain subculture you have to be careful to do it right. I am living and breathing Rock, though I am open towards other styles and views, but this movie feels like someone took my (metaphorical) balls, painted them pink and threw them in the blender.And this is not only because of the music. The story-line was as hair raising as the washed out shadows of the great 80 hits. The makers explored side story just to have in every minority group possible, every lonely side character needed a partner and really EVERYBODY had to get the happy-ever-after option and didn't spend enough attention to detail for the main story.Though Cruise made for a good Axel Rose sort of Rock good, this was one of the worst movies I have ever seen.
asn-no
"Pop of Ages" had been a more appropriate title for this movie. The closest thing to a rock song you'll hear, is some 80's glam rock ballad, rewritten to appeal to the lowest musical denominator. The story, is a classical boy meets girl, with a splash of cultural clash story (not dissimilar to Grease), in the form of a musical, but where great musicals use the songs to advance the story, Rock of Ages uses them to gloss over the holes in the storyline.The casting is horrible. Take for instance Tom Cruise as the lead rock and roll protagonist. Maybe someone saw him in the end of Tropic Thunder, dancing and rapping and thought, he will make a great singer. Alec Baldwin, has been cast, as an ageing club owner and rock institution. Tom Cruise and Alec Baldwin are both great actors, with many memorial movies to their name. Unfortunately the have as much rock and roll between them as a 90's boyband.So if you do let your children watch this movie, make sure you take them on a tour of youtube and show them some real rock and roll, lest they think that the music they have heard is rock and roll.
grantss
Works, just, somehow. Was initially very unimpressed: I hate musicals and this seemed like a movie-length version of Glee (the episode- length version of Glee is bad enough). However, it does grow on you. The plot is threadbare, and predictable, but the movie does have an energy and momentum that makes it easy to watch. The music helps too.Another positive is the all-star supporting cast. Lead roles are by unknowns whose performances are so-so (though I really don't mind seeing Julianne Hough!). No, it is the supporting cast that give the best performances, but what did you expect with names like Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand, Paul Giamatti, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Bryan Cranston and Malin Ackerman, plus Mary J Blige for some musical credibility. The faded rock star is the most interesting character, and is well-portrayed by Tom Cruise, who seems positively in his element in the role.The only negative with so many names is that some hardly have any screen time. I felt that the talents of Alec Baldwin and Russell Brand were wasted.Overall, better than first expected.
AD
