Hey, SWRNN readers. Here’s my review for the new movie “Rock of Ages.” 
“Rock of Ages” is a musical based off of a popular Broadway play, and is about a small town country girl and a big city boy who meet on Sunset Strip while pursuing their crazy Hollywood dreams.
Set in the 1980s, the film is directed by Adam Shankman (“Hairspray”), written by Allan Loeb, Chris D’Arienzo and Justin Theroux, and stars Diego Boneta, Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand, Bryan Cranston, Paul Giamatti, Julianne Hough, Mary J. Blige, Erica Frene, and Tom Cruise.
The acting in this movie was great. All of the performances were very good, but the show-stealer this time around was Tom Cruise.
The guy just nailed every single scene he was in, and this is one of those comedic supporting roles that will get a lot of critical acclaim. My favorite part of the movie, however, was the duo of Alec Baldwin and Russell Brand. They were just hilarious and actually had a reasonable amount of depth to them.
One flaw that this movie has, however, is too many unnecessary supporting characters. There were at least three characters that could have been cut from the movie entirely — they just didn’t impact the plot that much.
The absolute best part of this movie was the music. Growing up on artists like Bon Jovi, Foreigner, Joan Jett and more, this was a huge nostalgia trip for me. I personally am not a very big fan of musicals, but this film is an exception. Not only was the music awesome, but the set pieces and dance numbers were incredible. This is one movie that I strongly recommend you see in theaters for the full experience.
The biggest flaw that I saw with this film wasn’t even that big, but it was reasonably substantial. At the end of the second act, I feel like this film could have ended perfectly. But the third act drags out and is pretty much unnecessary. I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy parts of it, because I did, but the film would have been better off if it was cut out.
I found myself enjoying this film much more than I originally thought I would. It had one of the best soundtracks in quite awhile, great acting, and good humor.
Sure it has its flaws, but overall I give “Rock of Ages” a solid 4 out of 5. This is a great movie!
Adam Rolseth is a teen movie reviewer and regular guest contributor for SWRNN.
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