Shine A Light – movie review

Cast: Mick Jagger

Studio: Paramount

Rating: 6/10

Corporate line:
On April 4, 2008, an Academy Award(R)-winning filmmaker and the world’s greatest rock n’ roll band will unite to bring audiences the year’s most extraordinary musical film event, “Shine a Light,” to theaters everywhere. Martin Scorsese’s concert documentary “Shine a Light” will show the world the Rolling Stones as they’ve never been seen before. Filming at the famed Beacon Theatre in New York City in fall 2006, Scorsese assembled a legendary team of cinematographers to capture the raw energy of the legendary band.

The review:
Some people believe “The Last Waltz” was a classic–not I. And I’d paint the Rolling Stones/Martin Scorsese version “Shine A Light” in the same color. This isn’t a once in a lifetime kind of movie and certainly can’t replace seeing the Stones in concert. this doesn’t hold a flame to Scorsese’s series “The Blues.” This can’t even compete with the fantastic “U2 3D because that brought something different to the audience. If you really want to watch a great Rolling Stones movie then look no further than your local video store and “Gimme Shelter.” Scorsese tries to bring some of those documentary qualities to “Shine A Light” but there is no backdrop, no drama, no story other than the Stones are putting on another concert–the same thing they’ve done for 40 years.

Finally:
“Shine A Light” will be fun for Rolling Stones fans. But if you expect to learn something then this isn’t the film. Scorsese would have been better off doing a Rolling Stones documentary ala “The Beatles Anthology.”