Waaaay overrated

Rating: 5/10 (27 January 2019)

It's a watchable movie, but not oscar material. There is an extreme hype for this movie which is unfounded. Gaga did an ok job acting (not oscar material), a great job singing (as expected, perhaps best song) and Bradley Cooper did a very good job acting (I'm ok with a nomination, but not winning). The move has no pace, it seems like a bunch of different takes stitched together without rhythm, and the fact it got nominated for best picture is disappointing.
From a screenplay / editing perspective Gaga's rise to fame was too fast - you blink and she goes from accompanying Jack in his concerts to 3 grammys nominations. Perhaps if Cooper had been more generous with how much screen time he gave Gaga's character vs his own, this could have been addressed. In addition, I didn't connected with Jack's reasons for addiction. If Cooper had inserted a few flashbacks from Jackson and his dads relationship that would help us emphasize with the character better.
I think Cooper's ego prevented this movie from being significantly better; He should have brought in someone else to direct or co-direct and focused on making a good movie for his viewers rather than to create a platform for his 1st best actor win.
The movie is entertaining, especially for the songs and to see Gaga's debut in the big screen, but I would have enjoyed it probably better if it wasn't for the super hype that have been generated around it.