Good Hard Rock music, poor soft movie !

Rating: 6/10 (6 February 2002)

Being a Judas Priest fan (on which the actual movie is inspired) and a lover of great rock and heavy metal, I was waiting to see this film with not little anticipation.
What we get is a roller-coaster of a movie, yet with only one peak.
The first half of the film is good, with solid performances by all, yet then it just goes crashing down once "Izzy" joins the Steel Dragons.
I'm not too sure on the actual identity of the film - is it a comedy, or is it to be taken seriously? The problem is that it hovers too much in the middle, not knowing when to laugh or ponder upon what you've seen.
As to the life led by the band, I believe it's waaaaay over the top in the exposure to sex and drugs. The guys do work occasionally, even though it never seems they do.
To be honest, I was expecting something in the league of Almost Famous my best movie of 2001 ), yet what we get is passable stuff. See it if you like this kind of music - if you don't, you can afford to give it a miss and re-rent Almost Famous.