Great performances but nothing new to add -

Rating: 7/10 (23 October 2018)

I wish this had been the same stars Bradley Cooper and Lady GaGa in a different movie because they both are incredibly talented and are great together and yes the chemistry is there but this fourth remake (two to many) of a Star Is Born as far as I'm concerned has nothing more to add to the story of successful star meets and falls for struggling singer who's career eventually eclipses his and his addiction extinguishers his star forever.
I don't usually give spoilers but this scenario has been done before and better. Saying that ,if this is your first Star is Born you'll love it I'm sure.
I didn't like Streisand's and Kristofferson's version much either in 1976 and I'm still of the opinion that Judy Garland's 1954 A Star is Born is the best .
I can understand why new generations of movie stars are attracted to the story and want to put their own stamp on it but it's not Shakespeare and it has become a little cliched to say the least when you know the entire plot in advance and nothing new except new faces foul language and pop music are added to the same story written in 1936.
I noticed Barbra Streisand's one time boyfriend and producer of her version of this story , the very controversial Jon Peters ( they call him the Trump of Hollywood) is a producer of this latest version and remember some critics cruelly said his and Streisand's version should have been retitled A Star is Still Born .
In my humble opinion this 2018 version is as good as the 1976 version and it didn't come alive for me either and Streisand is one of my favourite stars.
Some good songs lifted it for me , especially Lady Ga Ga who is a true superstar and wrote some of her songs ( so did Streisand and won an Academy Award for Evergreen )
Ga Ga has a great voice range , like Barbra Streisand and they admire each other's talent.
Lady Ga Ga's little tribute to Judy Garland early in the film singing the introduction to Somewhere Over the Rainbow,which Judy never sang herself wasn't lost on me .
Bradley Cooper has a very good voice plus gives a great performance but I just wish that I had seen them in a new original story , I'd love to see Ga Ga in a film with a terrific new script telling the amazing story of Amy Winehouse , almost a reverse role for her to this film. Amy Winehouse was another incredible talent lost to the world in her prime due to addiction.
A Star is Born 2018 is getting great reviews and has Oscar nomination written all over it but I wouldn't like to see Lady Ga Ga win when Judy Garland didn't and truly delivered the ultimate portrayal of this character in her version.