Movies
It Might Get Loud Not Cranked to 11
Marketed as a guitar summit between The Edge, Jimmy Page, and Jack White, Davis Guggenheim's affectionate, intermittently insightful behind-the-music doc is more electric triptych than meeting of the minds. Yes, the trio gather 'round the soundstage amps to teach each other a few tricks, but it's anticlimactic—save for the schoolboy smiles of White and The Edge's mug when Page instructs them in the finer art of piloting a Led Zeppelin. But the meat of the movie deals with their individual tales anyway: The Edge showing off the school rooms and studios where U2 became one; Page air-guitaring along to Link Wray's "Rumble" and guiding us through the manse where the fourth Zep record was recorded; White building a guitar out of little more than wood, wire, and a Coke bottle. Guggenheim pits young'un against old fart: White bemoans "technology," while The Edge is nothing but—so much so that U2 fans may find themselves disappointed by the revelation that the Wizard is nothing but a pile of pedals behind that arena-sized curtain. It's Page, a joyful instructor and natural storyteller, who steals the spotlight (Robert who? More, please.) Only real complaint: The movie's not loud enough. They should have turned that fucker up to 11.
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LogicRules 02/17/2010 8:59:07 AM
"while The Edge is nothing but—so much so that U2 fans may find themselves disappointed by the revelation that the Wizard is nothing but a pile of pedals behind that arena-sized curtain" Uhhhhhhh... if you're a "U2 Fan", wouldn't you ALREADY KNOW this about the Edge? It's not like he keeps it a secret... he has always been forthright that he is NOT the world's greatest guitarist and relied on guitar fx/tech. You combine that with U2's origins where they started as a NEW WAVE band... there is absolutely NOTHING negative about that 'revelation'. The only people who would see that as negative are causal fans who know nothing outside of film reviews (wink). Which actually leads me to my main criticism: Wouldn't that mean you've totally missed the point of including the Edge? Hello... Edge is an extension of Jimmie Page. Guys like Page and Hendrix were some of the biggest influences and driving factors of guitar tech... The Edge is basically the evolution of what Jimmie and Jimi started. Jack White brings it around full circle by being the contemporary guy who's more organic than the old school hero Jimmie. Then, to really tie it all together: Jimmie and Jack started w/ deep r&b and blues influences, while the Edge and U2 didn't really discover those same genres until mid-way in their career (Joshua Tree, Rattle & Hum). That juxtaposition, I felt, was extremely insightful. Perhaps Guggenheim should have spelled it out better for those not familiar with any of these musicians.