Disappointing

Rating: 5/10 (4 August 2019)

A famous rock star, Jack Maine, spots an amateur singer, Ally, singing in a bar. He is impressed and invites her to sing with him in one of his concerts. Soon the relationship between them grows stronger. In addition, her star begins to rise, while his sets.
I have watched the 1954 Judy Garland version of A Star Is Born and wasn't impressed with that. Was massively padded, largely by unnecessary musical numbers which ruined the momentum of the movie.
This, the 2018 version, fortunately keeps the musical interludes largely short and necessary. However, it's still not great.
After a fairly clumsy start the movie shows a large amount of potential: as a commentary on the superficiality of modern music, as an engaging passing-of-the-torch story or simply as a struggling-artist-claws-her-way-to-the-top story. Unfortunately, none of these themes are developed or go anywhere profound. In fact, instead of ridiculing the superficiality of modern music, the film ultimately glorifies it. The two main characters ultimately represent how rock 'n roll is a dying art form, being replaced by incredibly shallow pop music.
No, the movie is, unfortunately, just a romantic drama, and a fairly conventional one too. The music industry setting just provides the backdrop. Character engagement is fairly limited, as the way the story is told is more about plot than character development. The unrelatable (music industry / celebrity world) setting probably doesn't help either.