Rock of Ages - Extendet Edition - Blu-Ray

Movie: When small-town girl and music lover Sherrie (Julianne Hough, Footloose) comes to Los Angeles in 1987, all her dreams seem to come true after a somewhat bumpy start. She meets smart musician Drew (Diego Boneta, Pretty little Liars), who gets her a job at the legendary Bourbon Room on the Sunset Strip. The owner, Dennis Dupree (Alec Baldwin), is currently struggling with some serious problems. Because not only that the finances have not been right for some time. Now Mayor Mike Whitmore (Bryan Cranston) also wants to close the cesspool as part of his initiative to clean up the Sunset Strip, led by his wife Patricia (Catherine Zeta-Jones). An appearance by legendary rock star Stacee Jaxx (Tom Cruise) is expected to fill the club's coffers, ensuring its continued existence. But sleazy agent Paul Gill (Paul Giamatti), reporter Constance Stack (Malin Akerman) and, not least, an unfortunate misunderstanding between Sherrie and Drew all contribute to the fact that the lights may soon go out on the Sunset Strip forever...

Following the huge success of his musical adaptation Hairspray, director Adam Shankman has once again ventured into adapting a Broadway hit with Rock of Ages. The story of the five Tony Award-nominated jukebox musical is built around numerous '80s rock hits by bands like Bon Jovi, Foreigner, Poison, Whitesnake, Guns N' Roses, Journey, Twisted Sister, Extreme and Night Ranger. Therefore, for an unadulterated enjoyment of this wonderful good mood musical, it is essential that you like this kind of music and don't mind a very self-deprecating treatment of it and the time in which it was created. Even though some of the hits here are familiar to younger audiences through the series Glee, and the two leads appeal to those very audiences, the film as a whole can be recommended more to '80s rock fans of the 30+ generation.

Because the musical actually derives much of its entertainment value from its many references to the era of nasty hairstyles and dramatic rock ballads. Whether it's Russell Brand's Joan Jett memorial hairdo or the guest appearances, lasting only seconds, of '80s stars like Skid Row's Sebastian Bach, REO Speedwagon's Kevin Cronin, Extreme's Nuno Bettencourt or former teen starlet Debbie Gibson, such trivia greatly increases the already decent fun factor for connoisseurs of the era and its music.

The story itself, which has been slightly altered for the film adaptation, doesn't necessarily bristle with originality. The sleazy politician who likes to get his butt kicked behind closed doors, the upstanding Christian woman with a dark past, the good country girl who gets robbed as soon as she arrives in the big city are all admittedly pretty hackneyed clichés. But their rehashing is so entertaining that one is only too happy to overlook any form of predictability. Alone the way the well-known songs are perfectly woven into the plot is simply ingenious. The downright ecstatic version of Foreigner`s I want to know what love is, the wonderful use of REO Speedwagon`s Can`t fight this feeling or the rousing closing anthem Don`t stop believin` make the soundtrack a real highlight that sometimes makes it really hard to sit still in the cinema seat. (<link http: www.amazon.de dp b007uuv52k ref="as_li_tf_til?tag=frankfurt-tip-21&amp;camp=1410&amp;creative=6378&amp;linkCode=as1&amp;creativeASIN=B007UUV52K&amp;adid=0CQ6DEGTXA6554D02R6S&amp;" _blank>You can order the soundtrack CD for the film HERE).

But Rock of Ages would certainly be half as successful without its great cast, despite the great soundtrack and fun production. Whether it's Alec Baldwin as the aging club boss, comedian Russell Brand as his devoted sidekick, Paul Giamatti as a delightfully sleazy agent, Malin Akerman as a journalist who seems a little uptight at first, Catherine Zeta-Jones as the dogged mayor's wife or Mary J. Blige as the motherly strip-club owner, they all ensure that the fun is quickly transferred to the audience with obvious enjoyment. But the real star of the film is clearly Tom Cruise. His portrayal of the perpetually drugged up rock star who makes women fall over by the dozen with just one look is nothing short of awesome. Not only the fact that he still cuts such a fine figure at almost 50, but first and foremost his dismantling of a superstar idolized by Allen, spiced with a lot of self-mockery, makes every second that Stacee Jaxx is seen in the film a real treat. No matter what you may think of Tom Cruise as a person, as an actor he is beyond reproach here. And vocally he also fits perfectly into the role of the mass-appealing rocker with high sex appeal.

Against this concentrated star power, the actual main actors Julianne Hough and Diego Boneta admittedly remain a bit pale. It takes a little while to get used to them and their not-so-powerful voices. But as time goes by, the two fit well into the overall picture and it becomes clear that they deliver really good performances as well.

Rock of Ages is not sophisticated arthouse cinema and certainly not much of a challenge to the intellect. Instead, the musical is a fun movie of the best kind, a look back to the 80s infused with a lot of nostalgia and affectionate irony, to a world before iTunes and YouTube, when music had a very different status than it does today. Whether a younger target group will also be enthusiastic about the film is up to the viewer. But if you can still remember the numerous haircut sins, extensive visits to the record store or clubs like the Bourbon Room, you should definitely not miss these two hours of pure pleasure. And at the end, many an audience member will probably follow Drew's example and shout out loud: I want to Rock! Absolutely worth seeing!

The Extendet Version: In addition to the theatrical version is included on the Blu-Ray still a nearly thirteen-minute longer version of the film, which is a little more raunchy turned out and therefore was also released only from 12 years. The additional material features, among other things, a longer version of the interview between Stacee Jaxx and Constance Stack, as well as a hot version of Rock you like a Hurricane, which the American moral guardians must have been very bothered by, which is why this scene was not shown in the cinema for a PG 13 rating. In any case, this longer version of the film is the better one based on this scene alone!

Image + Sound: The image transfer on the Blu-ray looks wonderful. Detail sharpness is at a very high level and the bright 80's colors come through extremely well. Even though some sets lack the necessary depth and look quite artificial as a result, there is nothing to complain about in terms of purely technical picture quality. The sound is a different story, as most of the action takes place in the frontal area. Movement on the surround channels is only very sporadic, which means that the sound mix doesn't quite meet the standards by which the realisation of a current film is measured. Nevertheless, the bottom line is still a close: very good!

Extras: In addition to the extended film version, the Blu-Ray has other quite extensive additional features to offer. Let's get started with The Legends of the Sunset Strip (approx. 30 min.) Here Pat Benetar, Sebastian Bach and members of bands like Styx, REO Speedwagon, Twisted Sister, Quiet Riot, Night Ranger, Def Leppard, Winger, Whitesnake, Dokken, Foreigner, Poison, Journey, Warrant, Faster Pussycat, Vixen, Extreme and W.A.S.P. tell what life was like on the real Sunset Strip in the 80s. This short documentary, as well as the following featurette (12:53) in which the musicians recall the inspiration for their hits covered in the film, is a must-see for all lovers of '80s rock.

Continue with the eight-part making-of documentary A Decade is Shaped (approx. 35 min. total), which delves into various aspects of the production, such as the '80s look, the choreography, the hairstyles, and the construction of the sets. All parts of this documentary can also be selected individually.

Finally, the Blu-Ray still has a music video, the possibility to play the songs from the film individually, as well as a short promotional clip for Florida in the program. With small deductions there is for it a: Very good!

Conclusion: Rock of Ages is an enjoyable time travel to the 80s, a brightly colored rock musical that relies less on content depth, but on a high fun and sing-along factor. For the Blu-Ray the film has been extended by 13 minutes worth seeing and especially the picture quality of the disc is on a high level. And for those who haven't had enough of 80s rock after over 2 hours of film, the bonus material, which is well worth watching, offers a deeper insight into the era and the making of the film. All this makes this Blu-Ray: Absolutely recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp