Customer Reviews
fun and cool - By: Christine Balfourlynn, 05 Sep 2006 
this is a fun film, the plots not great but the concert scenes are well done & the musc is fantastic. the main comedy in the film the irony that can be missed easily. for example the two tribute bands getting ready to fight one another, each begins to fight there double. defnatly an entertaining film worth watching
Real Rock Stars Feature - By: , 12 Dec 2004 This is just a short review to mention that fact that Zakk Wylde & Nick Cantanese from Black Label Society also had smalll casting roles in the film. Zakk plays the lead guitarist in steel dragon while nick is the lead guitarist from the tribute band who gets bollocked by Mark Walllberg for missing a pinch harmonic!
The Ultimate Rock Star!! - By: , 09 Aug 2004 
An absolutly amazing film about becoming your idol & realising your dreams. Superb acting & great directing makes this a must see for fans of heavy rock!!! Rock on!!
Will appeal to everyone's inner rock star - By: Richard Beenham, 17 Jul 2003 
The problem with films featuring "live" concert sequences is that it always looks & sounds fake - the performances are obviously lip-synched to backing tracks & the result is somewhat less than convincing. This is the main problem with "Rock Star". The concert sequences are supposed to convey the excitement of a live gig - & to a certain extent they do - yet Mark Wahlberg is obviously miming to a voice that clearly is not his, & this ruins the effect altogether.
That niggle aside, there is much to enjoy here. Anyone who has ever daydreamed about swapping the drudgery of everyday life for the life of a rock star will relate to this tale, loosely based on the story of Tim "Ripper" Owens, who went from singing in a Judas Priest tribute band to actuallly replacing Rob Halford as lead singer of Judas Priest.
Mark Wahlberg surprises with a nearly convincing performance (I say nearly due to the aforementioned lip-synching discrepancies) as the dreamer plucked from a dead-end job & a part-time existence singing in a tribute band to his heroes, Steel Dragon, to actuallly replace his hero in the real Steel Dragon.
What follows in this 80's-set comedy drama is fairly predictable but fun nonetheless. Jennifer Aniston provides solid support as Wahlberg's grounded girlfriend who quickly tires of life on the road, & Timothy Spalll is wonderful as ever as the wise (if a little lecherous) road manager.
For me, though, the most touching performance came from one of the film's non-actor stars - Jason Bonham, son of Led Zeppelin's John, a drummer who played on much of the film's soundtrack & appears as Steel Dragon's drummer. In a short scene between him & Wahlberg, he encourages him to "live the life" - whilst hooked up to the dialysis machine to which his "living the life" has led him. This short speech is delivered with such pathos & natural skill that he outshines his co-stars, & in many ways it sums up the general point of the film - that there is a definite dark side to the outwardly glamourous life of the rock star.
Other than that, it's formulaic but fun. There is many a cliche to be seen (yes, a TV does get thrown out of a window), & the 80's metal soundtrack will almost have you regretting chopping off your mullet.
But it does suffer from a sense of deja-vu - after alll, after "Spinal Tap", what more can be said about the 80's rock scene? That, & Wahlberg's atrocious lip-synching (are we reallly expected to believe that it's actuallly his voice we are hearing?) let the film down. Otherwise, it's enjoyable fare & may well have you thinking "If only..."
Rock at it's Best - By: , 19 Oct 2002 If you like rock music & you are a fan of Mark Wahlberg then this film is definatley for you. Mark plays a singer of a rock band who want's to make it big time in the music industry with his girlfriend, played by Jennifer, by his side. Things go to plan until problems happen within the band & between the couple. Look forward to the performances on stage & songs by Bon Jovi which is used within the band. I love it!!
