Read Mixed User Reviews for Pirate Radio

6

ChadSNov 16, 2009

He's mentored before, the great Phillip Seymour Hoffman, quite memorably, in Cameron Crowe's "Almost Famous", who as legendary rock journalist Lester Bangs, teaches young William Miller(Patrick Fugit), a cub reporter for "Rolling He's mentored before, the great Phillip Seymour Hoffman, quite memorably, in Cameron Crowe's "Almost Famous", who as legendary rock journalist Lester Bangs, teaches young William Miller(Patrick Fugit), a cub reporter for "Rolling Stone" magazine, to be "ruthless", and above all else, to not make friends with the rock stars. Carl(Tom Sturridge), the godson of the floating pirate station's owner(played by Bill Nighy), is the right mentoring age, but "The Boat That Rocked"(the original UK title), much like the Demitri Martin character in Ang Lee's "Taking Woodstock", allows a non-fan to be our entry point into the rock and roll milieu. Hoffman, playing an American deejay named "The Count", loves rock and roll; his rival, Gavin(Rhys Ifans), also loves the most vibrant of musical genres, but its importance is secondary to the women that the job of spinning vinyl procures. (These willing girls seem to confuse disc jockeys for actual musicians.) Carl, a virgin, is more enamored by the groupies than rock and roll, and that's, as the late Fats Domino would say, "a shame", because it would have given both Quentin's godson and the American more to do. At times, "Pirate Radio"(the inferior US title) seems too preoccupied with comic bits that are irrelevant to the deejays' job of rockin' England. (And the dramatic ones with Kenneth Branagh, as a government official trying to shut Radio Rock down, get repetitive.) Carl could have been the film's vehicle which took the moviegoer closer to the music. Disappointingly, he's merely an observer to its spirit. Hoffman goes it alone. Unlike Gavin, "The Count" is no chicken; he's willing to die for rock and roll. (***SPOILER ALERT***) When the ship goes down, Carl should have been at the Hoffman character's side, enduring the onrushing sea water while spinning The Beach Boys' "Wouldn't It Be Nice", to help assure rock radio's survival. "The Count" is the only true believer. "Pirate Radio" can be construed as a metaphor; it reflects the current state of the rock format, which is losing handily to talk radio stalwarts like Rush Limbaugh, and others of his ilk.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful

5

JimSNov 24, 2009

Slow to find its legs, this was a disappointing film. The scenes with the British politicians stole the show. Honestly, it would have been better as a rock opera. It also would have been much better if they played the full songs through Slow to find its legs, this was a disappointing film. The scenes with the British politicians stole the show. Honestly, it would have been better as a rock opera. It also would have been much better if they played the full songs through instead of cutting them short. An unsatisfying mix of British style comedy, one dimensional characters, and a lackluster portrayal of a fabulous era.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful

4

DanaMNov 23, 2009

When my wife turned to me and asked if we wanted to leave and go over to the Michael Jackson movie across the hall, I knew it was not her favorite. We stuck it out however to get a few laughs but nothing special. Save your money.

0 of 1 users found this helpful

6

JamesHJun 25, 2010

The music is great and it is a fun and entertaining movie. It is lacking a much needed spark however. It doesn't develop the characters enough and there are a few to many slow patches as well. It's a good concept, but it does wear The music is great and it is a fun and entertaining movie. It is lacking a much needed spark however. It doesn't develop the characters enough and there are a few to many slow patches as well. It's a good concept, but it does wear thin after while and loses steam halfway through. Very well acted by all and the score makes it worth watching.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

6

CarolynMNov 19, 2009

Good, though not very original, performances. We should have waited for the DVD's release, and I recommend you do that.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

6

KarthXLRMar 22, 2011

Great soundtrack! The movie that came with it was a little distracting though. But in all seriousness, Pirate Radio is a fun-but-flawed period piece of when Rock and Roll on the radio was all but illegal in 1960's Britain. The cast gives outGreat soundtrack! The movie that came with it was a little distracting though. But in all seriousness, Pirate Radio is a fun-but-flawed period piece of when Rock and Roll on the radio was all but illegal in 1960's Britain. The cast gives out mixed performances with a borderline-mediocre job from the protagonist and a pretty poorly-developed baddie. However, the pros outweigh the cons in this case, being more of a guilty pleasure than anything.… Expand

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6

JustinSmithSep 26, 2010

"These are the best days of our lives." -The Count
Pirate Radio (Richard Curtis's second time in the director's chair) comes six years after his impressive directorial dÃ©but, Love Actually (2003). This time Curtis returns with"These are the best days of our lives." -The Count
Pirate Radio (Richard Curtis's second time in the director's chair) comes six years after his impressive directorial dÃ©but, Love Actually (2003). This time Curtis returns with the theme of love intact, but his lack of a big enough story to fill the near two-hour runtime, threatens to capsize Curtis's rock 'n' roll love boat as waves of unnecessary drama, toss the story about on the rock 'n' roll sea.
We jump into the Pirate Radio sea in 1966, things are going good for rock n' roll, offshore pirate radio, and the ship, Radio Rock. Which is getting a new crew member, 'Young' Carl (Tom Sturridge), whose mysterious mum (Emma Thompson) feels it's necessary for Carl to spend some time on Radio Rock with his godfather, Quentin (Bill Nighy), who is the captain/manager of Radio Rock, filled with sex, drugs, alcohol, and did I mention, great rock music. Meanwhile, the British government is working to find a loophole to legally cut off Radio Rock's signal. The problem for the government was that the pirate radio stations were doing nothing illegal, so, as one government official points out, if the government doesn't like something, they pass a law to make it illegal. Pirate Radio has a good story to tell, and it needs telling, especially to the younger generation who knows nothing of this kind of censorship, nor the determination and love put forth by the people who risked their livelihood, and even lives, to bring great rock music to millions across the airwaves.
Many early shots in the film are handheld with fast edits and frantic pacing. As the story evolves and the audience feels at home with the crew of Radio Rock, there are more static shots and less frantic editing. The technique works well here, as the handheld scenes showthe rocking of the boat on the sea, as well as the uncertainty of Radio Rock's future. The heaping helping of rock songs played throughout the film provides most of the soundtrack, and only a few moments have need of a score.
There's a great cast of known and not-so-well-known actors aboard this ship of rock. Bill Nighy, who leads the expedition, is in top form, as always, delivering his lines in the best of deadpan seriousness (his good news/bad news speech is one of his finest moments). Philip Seymour Hoffman keeps the energy alive as The Count, an American DJ whose love of rock has brought him out to the North Sea. Nick Frost is even on board, with a performance that's not on par with his work in Shaun of the Dead (2004) or Hot Fuzz (2007), but still provides plenty of laughs. The remaining cast members are also good in their roles, and you may find a couple to look out for. I especially enjoyed Thick Kevin (Tom Brooke), whose only revelation comes after a night of drinking, Midnight Mark (Tom Wisdom), who says very little, even when on the radio, and Bob Silver (Ralph Brown), the deadhead who'll do anything to save his records.
The main flaw of Pirate Radio is too much padded drama with the DJs, most of which takes place over sexual escapades with women, who are only allowed on the boat every other Saturday. It would have been great to see more time spent on real events, instead of fictional spats between characters.
If you're looking for a (mostly) lighthearted adventure at sea, filled with great rock, and interesting characters, or an excuse to educate the younger generation about the long hard road of 1960s rock 'n' roll, Pirate Radio will keep its mast held high and bring you safely into port.… Expand

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6

TrailesqueSep 4, 2022

Also known as "The Boat That Rocked", this comedy presents the offshore radio phenomenon that happened in the UK in the 1960s. It does not sink like a stone, but it does not really set sail either. I don't know if it is based, partially orAlso known as "The Boat That Rocked", this comedy presents the offshore radio phenomenon that happened in the UK in the 1960s. It does not sink like a stone, but it does not really set sail either. I don't know if it is based, partially or fully, on real life characters or events, but pirate radio was a real thing. This focuses on a group of mostly male DJs, with a parallel tale of government officials plotting to take them down. It is good for a few chuckles, but it has a nostalgic, ersatz 1960s vibe to it, with that era's excesses presented as light comedy. They make the most of things at the end with some cool underwater effects.… Expand

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5

DawdlingPoetNov 27, 2021

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. To start with, to the best of my knowledge this is a fictional movie but based on a time when such stations were around, so the idea isn't entirely fictional (as your probably aware) - at the end of the movie, some real life statistics are shown. I did think the fictional station name, Radio Rock, was a bit unoriginal and unimaginative but maybe thats just me(?!).

My main criticism is that I felt it was too padded out, there are some slightly dull and unnecessary scenes that help push it past the two hour mark (running time wise), which wasn't really needed. Sometimes I get the feeling those behind movies seem to feel its a great achievement if they can spin things out for long enough to pass the two or even two and a half hour mark, as if they'll somehow automatically get extra praise (and perhaps money?) from that fact alone somehow but I'm a bit sceptical. Its fair enough to have a long running time if the content makes it necessary and worth it but I did feel there was certainly a fair element of 'filler material' there, so I don't think it was.

I liked the 'them vs us' aspect, with the MPs/civil servants working to find a way to legally stop the station and the variety of characters onboard the boat, old and new, some wiser than others, some seemingly more average in style and appearance than others and so on but the main obvious downside to this movie is the way I felt it padded out some storylines unnecessarily. Some of the characters are followed in more detail than others and shown to have their vulnerabilities, or to hide behind a perhaps semi-fake bravado.

There's some whispered, quiet/low key dialogue at times which may be a bit hard to follow. As you can maybe tell, the movie features both slightly dull, more serious scenes set on the boat, as well as some more raucous scenes, when a boat load of girls arrive on board.

I wasn't sure if this was meant to be more of a comedy or a drama, a snapshot of a turbulent time in pop culture, when the younger generation decided they wanted to offer an alternative to their peers than what 'the establishment' wanted them to listen to. Nowadays its a bit laughable, the sort of songs that were being played aren't exactly what we'd consider to be extremely graphic or especially immoral, not compared to whats around nowadays anyway in relation to depictions of drug taking and promiscuity etc., although its true that the DJs on board are shown to certainly test the moral decency boundaries by proudly declaring they'll be the first to swear live on air and making some smutty remarks.

There are some quite silly moments, some cringe-y moments with one of the less confident characters trying to maintain a relationship on board and get the measure of others, while also attempting to track down a close relative he hadn't previously known, whom he gets a tip off is (unknowingly) on board.

The story does take a sinister and very dramatic turn, when a real element of peril is introduced after about an hour and a half, after we (as viewers) have had a chance to get to know the characters and realise whats at stake, how much their love of music means to them and their listeners often shown huddled over their small radios in cafes and bedrooms around the UK. It was certainly quite entertaining and amusing in parts, although ultimately I felt one of the outcomes was a bit hard to believe but the message behind it is an important one, about the importance and determination of the younger generation to be represented, have their voices heard and so on.

As hinted at earlier, I found myself unsure whether this movie was trying to take itself seriously or not in a way - I did feel that there were some unnecessary scenes, as well as one or two questions left unanswered by the end of the movie, which isn't great, although this is a rather sentimentalised type movie anyway and is probably meant to be thought of as generally representing the time it was set in, rather than perhaps a full encompassing story that tracks in detail the ins and outs of what ocurred from start to end - I suppose it does well at conveying the sense of rebellion that was no doubt around at that time and in that sense it does well. This is a movie thats both written and directed by Richard Curtis, well known for having written movies such as 'Love Actually' (which he also directed) and 'Four Weddings and a Funeral', among others, hence the sentimentality aspect I suppose. Its pretty watchable and even perhaps a bit thought provoking but I couldn't help but feel that there was something lacking overall, so I'm going with a 3 star rating for this one. I'd also like to add that I liked the very end of the movie, when different music artwork is shown next to the credits, after an update provided by text on screen - that makes you think about how where we are now, culturally. I liked that.… Expand

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