The premise of a lead singer of a tribute band (Steel Dragon, based on Judas Priest) who gets a chance to replace his idol in the band appealed to me. You know the story: the nobody who suddenly makes it big, nearly forgets who he is, loses his girl, remembers himself, gets his girl back, etc.
Unfortunately, not much is done with that well-worn premise. Mark Wahlberg does his best with the role of Chris Cole, but it’s an unforgiving, unappealing role. Chris is mostly a jerk who takes heavy metal way too seriously. He eventually decides he is interested in doing more than just cover songs, but that transformation is neither explained nor explored.
The potential romance angle between Chris and his girlfriend/manager Emily (Jennifer Anniston) fizzles. The characters are simply not developed beyond stereotypes.
The music is done well, and the movie looks great. Those who remember the metal era with any amount of fondness (or loathing) will find things to smile about. I didn’t have time to watch the special features last night, and keeping it tonight to watch them would mean an extra trip to the video store that I won’t be making. That says a lot.
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P.S. There are some quite nasty scenes in this movie. Keep your kids away from it. Consider keeping yourself away, as well; there really isn't much redeeming value in this one, other than perhaps from a musical or nostalgic standpoint. Copyright 2002 by Toby Baldwin
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