Beyond my Expectations...

Rating: Null/10 (30 August 2004)

Well... let me just say that my initial expectations of this film were pretty negative.
From just looking at the picture on the case, its not difficult to spot the group of snobbish irritating children, their cheesy smiles and Jack Black with his mildly untidy hair, leading the group, and looking as though he would feel more at home in a circus or nursery. As you can imagine, this put me off straight away, despite my love and passion for Metal/ Rock sort of music. However, I watched it.
Fantastic. This film really is superbly acted (I REALLY mean this- amazingly talented actors) and features a lot of humour specifically aimed at adults, though it would still be fine for children to hear it as most likely they wouldn't understand certain parts.
What else I found to be a truly great element to the film is the fact that the child actors are actually trained musicians, so when you see them playing, they really are! To see a 10 year old boy play completely professionally is a spectacular sight and brings a realistic and believable dimension to the film.
If you got the DVD (recommended) then be sure to watch the extra features, such as the 'lessons learned...' option, basically the making of the movie. I was also taken by the comedy of the adults director's commentary... probably the best extras section i have ever seen on a DVD!
Basically, this film is very good, especially for those into Rock music to spot the references to great bands like Led Zeppelin, Nirvana and many many others. Just Watch It!