Capping off a not-to-be-missed soundtrack, real-life heavy metal musicians... add credibility to the film as they take to the stage as members of the Steel Dragon band.

| Nov 13, 2019

Not great, but moments of guilty pleasure.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 28, 2010

A watered down, lukewarm and very clich rock fantasy...

| Apr 29, 2009

The first half is hilarious but the second gives itself more to cautionary moralising and life lessons.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Dec 30, 2006

Every character becomes a cipher for a strangely reactionary morality tale.

| Jun 24, 2006

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Dec 6, 2005

Just as it should be falling apart, its melodrama becomes more touching than ever, ultimately shaping a film about much more than any band and more poetic than any song on the radio.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Oct 1, 2005

The milieu is more convincing than the story.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | May 30, 2003

Mark Wahlberg looks yummy in tight leather pants and that's a good thing because there's not much else to recommend . . . ROCK STAR.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Apr 5, 2003

Okay, so the plot's as fantastical and absurd as that whole, awful era, but damned if it isn't a good time.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 10, 2003

Forget the storyline, just laugh (and cringe) at the period.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 13, 2003

A veteran of arena stage concerts, Wahlberg's obviously got the moves and the attitude, but in offstage moments where more complex characterization is needed, he flounders.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Feb 8, 2003

Despite its flaws, screenwriters Callie Khouri and John Stockwell still manage to save Rock Star by writing a semi-entertaining script.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | Dec 8, 2002

It is a nonstop cliche.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Nov 6, 2002

Very watchable, owing to a pair of strong performances from its two leads, but it isn't the great film it could have been.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Oct 30, 2002

It offers witty entertainment and an easy, tourist-level jaunt through the more absurd precincts of big-time rock 'n' roll.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Oct 15, 2002

This is not Spinal Tap, but it is a fun though far from decadent or persuasive rock epic about finding your own voice in life.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 9, 2002

Surprisingly, Wahlberg's 'Rock Star' mesmerized me right along with all those screaming fans and sexy groupies depicted in the film.

| Aug 2, 2002

This is the first R-rated movie that feels PG-13, a heavy-metal saga you can take Mom to see.

Full Review | Jun 21, 2002

While not in the same league as either This Is Spinal Tap or Almost Famous, this rock-band movie is at least thoroughly entertaining.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jun 20, 2002