Exceptionally Disappointing

Rating: 2/10 (3 May 2010)

This movie is a mess! Without reading any reviews, I rented it over the weekend and was quite shocked. How can a filmmaker take a fantastic cast, an intriguing story, and some of the best music ever made and come out with this drivel? Easy: just write a totally self-indulgent and idiotic script! At times this seemed written by a 13-year-old, or perhaps Beavis and Butthead (and I certainly don't mean Mike Judge). Full of clichés, disjointedly edited scenes, totally gratuitous sex, and humor that's just not funny, this inappropriately worshipful treatment of Radio Caroline mythology can only be compared to "Space Cowboys." That's right, the space movie, which, with an amazingly talented cast, an intriguing and exciting story, and competent special effects, also managed to be a complete bomb.
I wanted to like this movie; actually I wanted to love it. I came of age in the 60's and the music of that era is the soundtrack of my life. I was a (non-pirate) DJ for a long time. I think the whole pirate radio concept is totally cool. But "Pirate Radio" (as it's appropriately called for US release) is such an un-funny, un-true-feeling, un-original screenplay that I am embarrassed to admit I rented it at all. I gave it two stars only because its production values were slightly higher than a MST3K ("bot") movie, and for the great tunes.