Wonderful Movie

The Worst Film Ever

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

Like the early Beatles bio-pic "Backbeat" this depiction of Jimi Hendrix's breakthrough years of 1966-1967 suffers from not playing any of his most recognisable songs during the period. It really is unthinkable that in trying to explore his complex character, the producers would ignore tracks like "Hey Joe", "Purple Haze" or "The Wind Cries Mary" to name but three. I don't know if it was they couldn't get licensing permission or whether it was deliberate, but for me it left a gaping hole in the finished movie.What we're left with then is in truth a rather flat, dreary movie which despite employing several cinematic tricks and devices, in the end comes out dull and boring, two things Hendrix assuredly wasn't. Among those devices is the name-plating of important people when they're on screen, even if only for fleeting seconds, just because they don't look sufficiently like their real-life counterparts (like Eric Clapton, Keith Richards and for one second George Harrison). Otherwise numerous jump-cuts, hand-held shots and unusual camera angles are deployed throughout no doubt to psychedelicise proceedings and get the viewer synced with swinging London in 1966-1967.Hendrix is depicted in three distinct guises, the sex-god who casually flits from woman to woman as they uniformly fall for his hippy-drippy, far-out exoticism, staying with him even after he hits them, the peace-nik dreamer who we see set out his flower-power credentials in a lengthy heavy discussion with black activist Michael X and lastly of course the shy musician, reverent of his blues history and modern contemporaries like Clapton and Dylan, who can drop in on a Cream gig and blow away Slowhand Clapton or dazzle the attendant Beatles at a Savile Row gig by playing the title track to their landmark "Sgt Pepper" album just two days after its release.I actually liked the acting in the film, Andre Benjamin of OutKast certainly nails Jimi's appearance, mannerisms, speech patterns and even his guitar playing style, the various women who pass in and out of his life are well played and similarly the actors playing his manager ex-Animal Chas Chandler and the Experience members Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding are convincing.Somehow though this movie, whilst reasonably accurate in depicting the era failed to really leap off the screen and grab my attention with dialogue scenes running on too long and one senses really only touching the surface of the complex character that was James Marshall Hendrix.

The movie missed the opportunity to dive deeper into the music, but decided to focus on the uninteresting relationships.Editing is weird and slow paced. Dialogue was layered on top of alternate dialogue and 40% of the movie is complete silence (people smoking or just staring at things). The movie is 2 hours long, so there is a A LOT of fillers due to the dullness of the script.The script is bull. Hendrix was not aggressive and disrespectful to Kathy, and Clapton was not jealous of Hendrix.As much as I love Hendrix, this film was nothing but and insult to Jimi's legacy. Honestly, the only scene worth watching is the band's performance of Sgt. Pepper's.5/10

This movie's good, while there might be less action then say, Indiana Jones, but its still pretty entertaining. No but for everyone, this is a good movie, interestingly shot, well acted, no it won't be winning any Oscars, but its worth a watch. PS this really isn't racist, its something realistic to its time era. It is an interesting story that makes you feel like you were actually there with the people. It holds your attention and like I mentioned before, the filmography is something you don't see very often - very interesting point of view. No, I don't agree with everything portrayed, but overall, its not as God awful as other reviews make it out to be and is really a great watch. I'm not sure if I'll watch it again, but I feel happy that I did watch it, and don't regret anything.

Failed musical-bio on the career of American rock and blues musician Jimi Hendrix (1942-1970), whose life spiraled out of control at the age of 27, leading to his accidental death from an overdose of barbiturates. André Benjamin was a very fine choice for the leading role: he has the charisma and stage presence needed to play Hendrix, plus his dramatic acting is also good (he broods prettily). Unfortunately, writer-co-producer-director John Riley was unable to get the necessary musical assistance from the artist's estate and, without Hendrix's original music in the film, a hole is left in the finished product. Ridley perhaps panicked, using a messy editing technique to substitute for a narrative. The many chapter stops and starts strand the movie in a kind of 'artistic' past-or-present netherworld. The whole thing would feel like a horrible sham were it not for Benjamin's performance. He rated a better movie--and Hendrix's fans deserved one. *1/2 from ****