It's got a good beat and you can dance to it. And on this week's Rate-A-Record card, I give [Cadillac Records] a 98.

| Nov 7, 2019

Darnell Martin takes some dramatic licence with the tale of Chess Records. But it's an enthralling story nonetheless, and the outstanding ensemble cast - together with a primal, heart-thumping blues soundtrack - make it a blast from start to finish.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Oct 30, 2019

| Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 18, 2011

It turns out to be grittier and more lowdown than that Ray Charles bio.

| Aug 16, 2011

The movie's major problem is its relatively superficial approach to postwar Chicago, which perhaps accounts for director Martin's playing fast and loose with the historical record.

| Jul 6, 2010

| Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 8, 2009

Cadillac Records is not a terrible movie but in the chain of rags to riches films (Dreamgirls, Ray, Walk the Line, etc.) it definitely falls at the bottom of the heap.

| Original Score: B- | Jul 3, 2009

The music is good, the suits are sharp, but it's the outstanding performances that wow. Walker is electrifying as Howlin' Wolf and Beyoncé - playing Etta James - has never been so sultry and sexy.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 26, 2009

The music, largely performed by the actors, is highly enjoyable.

| Feb 26, 2009

The rich soundtrack is one of the highlights of this solid, unfamiliar story in which most of the actors do all their own singing.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 26, 2009

Perhaps there were insurmountable legal restrictions. But the movie still serves as a dandy primer for rediscovering a lot of great music.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Feb 20, 2009

A scattershot ensemble piece that exceeds its reach in its retelling of the origins of Chicago's Chess label.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | Feb 20, 2009

Anyone who likes pop music or wonders how bands like the Rolling Stones got rolling will enjoy the ride.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Feb 20, 2009

Sadly the movie conforms to all the music-biopic stereotypes we've seen in Walk the Line, Ray and Dreamgirls.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Feb 20, 2009

The film is a mess.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Feb 20, 2009

This film is more like a limousine than a Cadillac - it is very long and carries far too many people.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Feb 20, 2009

The music is great, so energetic and vital it leaves the drama looking unfocused in comparison. Beyoncé, singing her heart out, is the pick of a very impressive line-up.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 20, 2009

It's a shame director Darnell Martin depends so heavily on the clichéd conventions of every other rags-to-riches biopic.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 20, 2009

Dripping with drink/drugs/infidelity melodrama: it's almost impossible not to make a compelling movie out of this material, but somehow writer/director Darnell Martin manages.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Feb 20, 2009

Packed with great music and some fine performances from a terrific cast.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 20, 2009