Rock Star
Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: September 7, 2001 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
54
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 32 Critic Reviews
Positive:
15
Mixed:
12
Negative:
5
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Even though it's weak in the final stages, Rock Star has more than enough sparkle to last you. That's chiefly thanks to Wahlberg, the main firework of this movie. Read full review
80
SalonStephanie Zacharek
But even here, in a role that doesn't ask much of Wahlberg, I find plenty of evidence that he's among the finest actors of his generation. Read full review
80
L.A. WeeklyManohla Dargis
Wahlberg has turned into one of the most sympathetic and persuasive young actors around, and while his new movie remains safely, even shrewdly, in the middle of the road, he rocks. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeJay Carr
As generic as its title, but two things enable it to land: the basic likability of Mark Wahlberg as the wannabe protagonist, and the contagious energies in the rock concert sequences.
75
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
The acting is excellent, and the movie has a good-natured spirit to match its ultimate faith in the hero's deep-down goodness. Read full review
75
New York PostJonathan Foreman
Easily one of the most enjoyable big-budget Hollywood movies to come along in a while, Rock Star is an unexpected pleasure. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
An irresistible movie about a guy who goes on a journey, the kind an audience can't wait to take with him. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
A genial look at what happens when a wannabe becomes a headliner, Rock Star only stumbles when it decides it has to deliver a lesson about What's Really Important. Read full review
70
Village VoiceJ. Hoberman
Raking over the same clichés as "Almost Famous," Rock Star is far less reverential -- it isn't burdened by generational nostalgia and doesn't take itself too seriously. Read full review
70
The New York TimesDana Stevens
Represents the usual victory of simplistic screenwriting conventions over the rich, gamy ambiguities of the subject. But while its slide into perfunctory storytelling dilutes the raw, silly spectacle of sex and noise, the movie still has enough wit and insight to make it worth watching. Read full review
70
Washington PostRita Kempley
The most unlikely of undertakings: an energetic feel-good movie about sex, drugs and other rock-related depravities. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
This movie is as packed with flashy bogusness as a lead singer's tight leather trousers. On the other hand, there's nothing bogus about the charisma and tough sweetness of Wahlberg. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleKimberley Jones
It's a goofy, tongue-in-cheek, my-gawd-how-could-we-be-so-dumb shrine, but a shrine nonetheless. Read full review
63
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
Its familiar story has pleasing quirks. Read full review
63
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
By the end of the film I conceded, yes, there are good performances and the period is well captured, but the movie didn't convince me of the feel and the flavor of its experiences. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
Rock Star sinks into a morass of melodrama. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
Herek does capture the rush and crush of a stadium concert, and the music (more Leppard than Priest) isn't half bad -- in a disposable, arena-rock sort of way. Read full review
50
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
Like the type of music it celebrates, Rock Star is just a lot of posing, adding up to very little. Read full review
50
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
Rock Star roars to life with a promise of something inspired and inventive whenever Wahlberg leaps onstage. Offstage, however, even he can't breathe life into this same old song. Read full review
50
New Times (L.A.)Robert Wilonsky
Rock Star takes itself so seriously it becomes full-on parody -- "This Is Spinal Tap" as a sanctimonious cautionary tale. And how rock 'n' roll is that? Read full review
50
TimeRichard Corliss
This is a good-natured retro romp that is truer to Golden Age movies than to golden oldies songs. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMark Caro
The movie can't quite embrace its characters or their scene; Wahlberg even cracks a joke over the end credits that heralds the late-'80s ascendance of hip-hop, which, of course, spawned Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
It's sweet but not the least bit plausible that any kid in the mid-'80s would be surprised that along with rock 'n' roll come sex and drugs. Read full review
50
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
The deeper problem with Rock Star is its insistence on turning a heavy-metal fairy tale into a morality tale that's as heavy as lead.
42
Portland OregonianKim Morgan
Somewhere along the way, Stephen Herek's Rock Star decided to become a dippy, cliche-ridden drama and, worse, an odd indictment of metal music. Joy. Read full review
40
VarietyRobert Koehler
Feels particularly like old news after the risks of the rock 'n' roll lifestyle were laid out for the previously uninformed in last year's "Almost Famous." Read full review
40
Mr. ShowbizKevin Maynard
By the time Rock Star reaches its cop-out, "All About Eve"-ish ending, the only thrashing that should be going on is of the filmmakers, for bungling such a promising premise.
38
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
Rock Star neither touches a raw nerve nor garners any resonance as a period piece. You'd be better off renting "This is Spinal Tap." Read full review
38
USA TodayClaudia Puig
When it's not aspiring, unsuccessfully, to satirize the world of metallica, Rock Star veers into even drearier territory and becomes a head-banging, sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll version of "A Star Is Born." Read full review
30
Chicago ReaderStaff (Not Credited)
The music could have been better in this spineless drama, which has several angles but no perspective. Read full review
20
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Launches the fall season with a crashing thud. Read full review
10
New York Magazine (Vulture)Peter Rainer
Has a terrific premise that shatters almost upon arrival; no bad-boy legend trashing a hotel room could have done a more complete job. Read full review
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