Rock of Ages

Superstar Stacee Jaxx has to come back to the place where it all began to resurrect one of the brightest venues in Music.

Adapted from the hit US and UK musical, "Rock of Ages" tells the story of a small town girl and a city boy who find themselves in the middle of the blossoming rock scene in LA in 1987. The pair become romantically involved while working at the iconic "Bourbon Room", the venue which launched some of the biggest careers in rock, but has now fallen on tough times with the rise and rise of rap music.

Rock Legend Stacee Jaxx is called in to give one final concert with his band "The Arsenal" before he goes into his solo career. His smarmy manager breaks the deal and the superstar finally meets a woman who can keep up with his madcap lifestyle. The club may well survive if Jaxx can give the performance of a lifetime and the management and staff can keep "anti rock groups" headed up by the mayor's wife from running the place into the ground...

A memorable all star cast promised to make this an instant classic as director Adam Shankman brings one of the most popular plays in Broadway history to the big screen, taking on the difficult transition with a fair amount of success. With superstars like Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin and Cathrine Zeta-Jones you would always expect that there could be personality clashes, but the cast pulls this one off well and the choice of allowing 2 big screen unknowns to take the leads is a gamble which pays off well.

Mainly known for their TV work in the US, Diego Boneta and Julianne Hough take the leading parts of "Drew Boley" and "Sherrie Christian", two star struck singers who have come to the bright lights of LA to seek their fortunes. Both of these multi-talented youngsters give powerful performances, but will probably be better for their vocal highlights than their acting ones. They do well to spearhead this film despite the script being a little flat in places, but keep an eye out for both of these in the future.

Tom Cruise gives a very decent showing as rock legend "Stacee Jaxx", a man whose debut album brought us many modern classics, but it is hard to decide on whom he based his character. To me it seemed a mixture of Axl Rose, Iggy Pop and that his vocal coach must have had firm influence from Jon Bon Jovi, but the former "Top Gun" star gives a darkness to character which was much needed in this one. His singing holds up and he gives one of his best performances in a while.

The combination of Alec Baldwin and Russell Brand as a club manager and his faithful companion bring a lot of the best laughs in this one, but I am not too sure how much acting brand had to do in order to bring his mental character to life. Both actors impress as "Dennis Dupree" and "Lonny" and make this film a lot better than it could have been.

Catherine Zeta-Jones gives a decent showing as the puritanical "Patricia Whitmore", a woman with a mission to destroy rock music and, a wicked secret to hide. Her character is likeable and mixes perfectly with her onscreen husband "Bryan Cranston" who continues his monumental run in film after nearly a decade on "Malcolm in the Middle". Malin Ackerman also gives a very good performance as the love struck "Constance Sack", while Paul Guamatti does superbly to bring the ugly side of music to life in the money hungry artist manager, "Paul Gill" and redeems some of the respect he lost in his last outing, "Cosmopolis". Also a lovely outing for the talented soul and R&B singer Mary J Blige, who does rather well as "Justice Charlier".

It is difficult to think of this as a traditional film, because to do that would be a mistake. It is a musical through and through, with a story and script which is wound around some of the most iconic rock songs in history. Even if you hate the film, and it will be difficult to do, you will find it almost impossible not to sing along to the likes of Poison, Journey, Extreme, Twisted Sister and Van Halen. The soundtrack is one of the best you will ever hear, with each and every song recognizable from the first chords. All of them are done well, with some interesting interpretations.

Keep an eye out for some lovely cameos from some of the biggest names in rock, including Sebastian Bach of Skid Row and CC Deville of Poison fame. Also a sterling role from wrestling legend Kevin Nash.

The film is enjoyable, but does drag in places. The script could have done with a bit more padding, but the musical score more than makes up for what it misses. Certainly worth a watch, but some of the songs may well be lost on the "Glee" generation.

5.5/10