Review of Purple Rain (1984) by James W — 17 Jun 2013

Purple Rain is a surprisingly average musical drama starring Prince. I had heard countless things about this film, and I finally checked it out. Well, it's not a great film by any means, and the film is more famous for its soundtrack, which is quite good.

The film has its fair share of faults, but manages to be entertaining due to an interesting performance from Prince. I enjoyed the film, but I felt it could have been better. The songs are obviously the standout aspect about the film, and the plot is a bit cliché as it's something we've seen many times before.

Those interested in this genre of film will surely enjoy this one; others will find it not quite enjoyable. By today's standards it's quite dated, but it is a far better film than the remake of Hairspray and Rock of Ages.

Some elements on-screen work well, but others don't and you clearly see where the film fails. Purple Rain should have been a great dramatic musical, but it only touches the surface in many ways. In the end, you are left wanting more than just a good soundtrack.

Prince has done some stellar work in terms of music, but as an actor, he just isn't cut out for it. At least the songs he has written for the film are memorable, and that's the main reason to see this film.

I'm not normally one to enjoy this type of music, I'm more into Heavy metal, but the tunes here are timeless and it is fun to see Prince perform them. The plot could have been reworked a bit as well, but overall this is a good film to watch when you have nothing else better to do.