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This film would probably be enjoyed more by people who are very into music or actual musicians that play in their local music scene. At times you'll witness musicians that are growing with you and you see that they're far greater than you and your band mates. Something simple as that can make for an incredible drama/comedy that deals with the downfall of an individual trying to beat a friend's band named "The Hype" in every way possible in terms of success. They all grow up in the same town and aspire to become rock stars, Neil McCormick makes his band with his brother while his schoolmate Paul Hewson starts up his own band. While still being friends Neil feels his band is as good if not greater than Paul's but he can clearly see that things are going much better for Paul's band. Things speed up even further when "The Hype" decides to change their name to "U2" and also adopt nicknames to have a different stage persona. From there on out, Neil's band "Shook Up!" spends the next few years trying to catch up to a band that has been destined to super stardom. The pathos created for the main character is so well executed you cringe at every missed opportunity and mess up he encounters, I almost started rooting for him even though I knew he was going to fail.
The music is a big element to this film and it's done very well, it represents an early "U2" without going too much into what they're now more well-known for and showcases music by "Shook Up!" that sounds just as good as U2's. You can definitely hear the bands are starting to create their own sound with great execution and makes you love both bands so much. The acting is superb on everyone's part, not a single beat is missed which makes the comedic elements break the much needed tension from the character's failure. The environment accurately depicts living in the early 80's in an emerging European rock scene while the camera work is used to really bring out the energy in the concert scenes to great perfection making you feel like you missed a great show.
Overall, I related to this movie in the sense that we all have dreams. Whether big or small you want to try everything in your power to achieve them even if it takes a lifetime. I felt that this character did have a gift but had so much bad luck from the beginning that he was destined for failure. The envy he felt for his friend could've been transformed into positive energy to maybe learn from him and even be greater than him, but we'll never know and never will.
score 9/10
legendkiller2020 18 February 2014
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2963194/ |
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24-2-2021 12:07:24