Review of Shine a Light (2008) by Jonathan B — 08 Jan 2013
A nicely shot concert film by Scorsese of a fairly mediocre performance by the veteran rockstars. It does have a cinematic look to the film, thanks to film-set lighting and a comprehensive camera set-up.
The footage is biased towards Mick'n'Keefe, understandable, but highlighting how they are perhaps the weakest musicians of the band, with Mick coming across as a self-satisfied dancing grandad and Keith playing up to his ravaged, eccentric image but playing and singing sloppily.
Wood and Watts get the least screen time, a shame as they're clearly the strongest musicians and the anonymous, slick back-up musicians pretty much polish the very rough edges with little acknowledgement.
The crowd is also clearly VIP invitees / pretty young things with little atmosphere. A few songs sound decent, the guest stars are all forgettable save for Buddy Guy who comes out and shows these old white boys how to really play.
This review of Shine a Light (2008) was written by Jonathan B on 08 Jan 2013.
Shine a Light has generally received positive reviews.
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