Apart from a rush ending, this is probably the best remake of the classic flick

Rating: 8/10 (13 December 2018)

This is the third remake of a classic flick, the Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga film is an impressive spectacle that hits most of the emotional highs and lows audiences want from a movie that promises to take you on a melodramatic journey.
Not melodramatic in a bad way, melodramatic in that everything is heightened - the triumphs are soaring, the tragedies are crushing. Musicals are not subtle beasts.
Is it perfect, the most amazing movie you'll see this year? No, but it is pretty great.
It's an electric experience, with Cooper borrowing filming and editing techniques from concert films, filling the frame with an undeniable energy. When Ally hits those first notes, you are completely with her. Her joy is your joy - that emotional transference from screen to spectator is seamless.
Their chemistry is palpable - Cooper and Gaga are clearly on the same wavelength and they're able to have you invest in Ally and Jack's relationship immediately.
Anyone who has seen any of the three previous versions, starring Janet Gaynor (1937), Judy Garland (1954) and Barbra Streisand (1976), will no doubt remember how it ends. But even for those who haven't, it's a familiar trajectory.
The idea is that there are only so many stars - one must move aside for another. So the story isn't just about Ally's journey to the top of the charts and acclaim, it's also about Jack's descent and increasing irrelevance.
Telling the downfall story requires more finesse than A Star Is Born is able to manage - the Garland version does this very well and it's inevitable that this version will always be compared to the ones before it.
Cooper's performance as the sad and struggling Jack is brilliantly calibrated, and consistent throughout - he even nailed the physicality of it, from that leathered, fake-tanned face to the lower octave voice and the constant, sweaty sheen of an alcoholic.
As a director, Cooper is exacting and meticulous with every detail - it's a real achievement for a first-timer.
Sam Elliot as Jack's older half-brother and manager brings another level of humanity to the film while Dave Chappelle is always welcome in a dramatic role.
The Garland version was able to tap into the dehumanizing side of the Hollywood studio system and the trappings of fame, but Cooper's A Star Is Born is more ambivalent about the music business.
A Star Is Born is a satisfying and emotionally evocative epic, nevertheless. And perhaps the "best film" this year.