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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
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Rock Star
Warner Bros.
FILM:
MPAA RATING: R for language, sexuality and some drug content
Starring
Mark Wahlberg,
Jennifer Aniston,
Jason Flemyng,
Timothy Olyphant,
and
Timothy Spall
In an instant, Chris Cole (Whalberg) rockets to the dizzying heights of sudden stardom, rising from devotee to icon, from the ultimate rock fan to the ultimate rock god -- the wanna-be who got to be. So what happens when an average guy gets everything he wants...and discovers it's not enough? (Warner Bros.)
| GENRE(S): |
Musical
|
| WRITTEN BY: |
John Stockwell
Callie Khouri
|
| DIRECTED BY: |
Stephen Herek
|
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: January 22, 2002
Video: January 22, 2002
Theatrical: September 7, 2001
|
| RUNNING TIME: |
104 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: |
USA |
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
80
Washington Post
Desson Thomson
Even though it's weak in the final stages, Rock Star has more than enough sparkle to last you. That's chiefly thanks to Wahlberg, the main firework of this movie.
80
Salon.com
Stephanie Zacharek
But even here, in a role that doesn't ask much of Wahlberg, I find plenty of evidence that he's among the finest actors of his generation.
80
LA Weekly
Manohla Dargis
Wahlberg has turned into one of the most sympathetic and persuasive young actors around, and while his new movie remains safely, even shrewdly, in the middle of the road, he rocks.
75
New York Post
Jonathan Foreman
Easily one of the most enjoyable big-budget Hollywood movies to come along in a while, Rock Star is an unexpected pleasure.
75
Boston Globe
Jay Carr
As generic as its title, but two things enable it to land: the basic likability of Mark Wahlberg as the wannabe protagonist, and the contagious energies in the rock concert sequences.
75
Christian Science Monitor
David Sterritt
The acting is excellent, and the movie has a good-natured spirit to match its ultimate faith in the hero's deep-down goodness.
75
San Francisco Chronicle
Mick LaSalle
An irresistible movie about a guy who goes on a journey, the kind an audience can't wait to take with him.
70
Village Voice
J. Hoberman
Raking over the same clichés as "Almost Famous," Rock Star is far less reverential -- it isn't burdened by generational nostalgia and doesn't take itself too seriously.
70
The New York Times
Dana Stevens
Represents the usual victory of simplistic screenwriting conventions over the rich, gamy ambiguities of the subject. But while its slide into perfunctory storytelling dilutes the raw, silly spectacle of sex and noise, the movie still has enough wit and insight to make it worth watching.
70
Washington Post
Rita Kempley
The most unlikely of undertakings: an energetic feel-good movie about sex, drugs and other rock-related depravities.
70
Los Angeles Times
Kenneth Turan
A genial look at what happens when a wannabe becomes a headliner, Rock Star only stumbles when it decides it has to deliver a lesson about What's Really Important.
67
Austin Chronicle
Kimberley Jones
It's a goofy, tongue-in-cheek, my-gawd-how-could-we-be-so-dumb shrine, but a shrine nonetheless.
67
Entertainment Weekly
Lisa Schwarzbaum
This movie is as packed with flashy bogusness as a lead singer's tight leather trousers. On the other hand, there's nothing bogus about the charisma and tough sweetness of Wahlberg.
63
Charlotte Observer
Lawrence Toppman
Its familiar story has pleasing quirks.
63
Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert
By the end of the film I conceded, yes, there are good performances and the period is well captured, but the movie didn't convince me of the feel and the flavor of its experiences.
50
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Sean Axmaker
Rock Star roars to life with a promise of something inspired and inventive whenever Wahlberg leaps onstage. Offstage, however, even he can't breathe life into this same old song.
50
Time
Richard Corliss
This is a good-natured retro romp that is truer to Golden Age movies than to golden oldies songs.
50
Philadelphia Inquirer
Steven Rea
Rock Star sinks into a morass of melodrama.
50
TV Guide
Ken Fox
Herek does capture the rush and crush of a stadium concert, and the music (more Leppard than Priest) isn't half bad -- in a disposable, arena-rock sort of way.
50
Miami Herald
Rene Rodriguez
Like the type of music it celebrates, Rock Star is just a lot of posing, adding up to very little.
50
New Times (L.A.)
Robert Wilonsky
Rock Star takes itself so seriously it becomes full-on parody -- "This Is Spinal Tap" as a sanctimonious cautionary tale. And how rock 'n' roll is that?
50
Chicago Tribune
Mark Caro
The movie can't quite embrace its characters or their scene; Wahlberg even cracks a joke over the end credits that heralds the late-'80s ascendance of hip-hop, which, of course, spawned Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch.
50
New York Daily News
Jami Bernard
It's sweet but not the least bit plausible that any kid in the mid-'80s would be surprised that along with rock 'n' roll come sex and drugs.
50
Wall Street Journal
Joe Morgenstern
The deeper problem with Rock Star is its insistence on turning a heavy-metal fairy tale into a morality tale that's as heavy as lead.
42
Portland Oregonian
Kim Morgan
Somewhere along the way, Stephen Herek's Rock Star decided to become a dippy, cliche-ridden drama and, worse, an odd indictment of metal music. Joy.
40
Mr. Showbiz
Kevin Maynard
By the time Rock Star reaches its cop-out, "All About Eve"-ish ending, the only thrashing that should be going on is of the filmmakers, for bungling such a promising premise.
40
Variety
Robert Koehler
Feels particularly like old news after the risks of the rock 'n' roll lifestyle were laid out for the previously uninformed in last year's "Almost Famous."
38
Baltimore Sun
Michael Sragow
Rock Star neither touches a raw nerve nor garners any resonance as a period piece. You'd be better off renting "This is Spinal Tap."
38
USA Today
Claudia Puig
When it's not aspiring, unsuccessfully, to satirize the world of metallica, Rock Star veers into even drearier territory and becomes a head-banging, sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll version of "A Star Is Born."
30
Chicago Reader
Staff (Not Credited)
The music could have been better in this spineless drama, which has several angles but no perspective.
20
Rolling Stone
Peter Travers
Launches the fall season with a crashing thud.
10
New York Magazine
Peter Rainer
Has a terrific premise that shatters almost upon arrival; no bad-boy legend trashing a hotel room could have done a more complete job.
 The average user rating for this movie is 8.3 (out of 10) based on 11 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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