Ruined by Kristen Stewart (no surprises there) and lacklustre direction

Rating: 5/10 (10 February 2016)

I love rock biopics, but initially avoided this because it starred Kristen Stewart, star of films where no acting, or plot, or character depth are involved. So it was with some trepidation that I eventually watched it, hoping it wasn't all that bad.
Sadly, it is. Kristen Stewart is indeed talentless. What could have been an edgy and intriguing look at one of rock's more controversial bands turns into a fairly lacklustre join-the-dots docu-drama. Much of this is the fault of the director, Floria Sigismondi. However, Kristen Stewart's lack of ability to play anything beyond one-dimensional characters doesn't help, especially as she plays the main character, Joan Jett.
Stewart is aided and abetted by Michael Shannon, who, as Kim Fowley, tries too hard to be dark, quirky and edgy and comes off as over- acting.
Dakota Fanning makes up for this, to a degree, by putting in an excellent performance as Cherie Currie.
There are some other pluses: the music is great, of course. The history of The Runaways is covered fairly well.