- Sensibility: A few interactions feel corny and theatrical to the point of farce, but the grim realities of the story help balance these insensibilities out.
- Cinematography: Costuming is a major highlight along with some impressively seamless cgi around missing body parts. Production design and lighting are solid. However, some awkward scene transitions and repetition in imagery make some moments stale. Also, some fairly poor fake-instrumentation wouldn't fool even the lesser trained eye.
- Energy: Lags a bit in the repetition between the narrative set backs and the interruptions for corny melodrama, but great musical performances and acting performances from Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson really keep things moving. Every scene involving a promoter is so painful it's hard to watch, but great chemistry between Lightning and Thunder makes up for this in spades.
- Narrative: A great true story with so much to offer that it's disappointing when it tries too hard to pander to audience laughs and melodrama. Some moments of real character grit shine through what is often a run-of-the-mill musician biopic, notably some dream/delusion sequences after an accident and some music practice sessions.
- T-Points: The film received two bonus points: one for a great moment where Lightning is first considering impersonating Neil Diamond, one for a great medication induced delusion, and one for a great duo performance from Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson.
It's amazing how much joy and gratitude this story exudes when it really is a brutal tragedy at its core. Great performances, great music, and overall a solid musical biopic after a slew of rather poor ones.
Number of Watches: 1
