Rock of Ages - 6 stars out of 10

Rock of Ages - 6 stars out of 10

"Rock of Ages" is exactly what you think it is.  Awesome rock music and really great singers wrapped around a weak story that attempts to incorporate the music into the plot.  I would much rather go out and buy the soundtrack than watch the actual movie again.  Unlike "Across the Universe" which focused on telling a great story and fitting the Beatles music and characters into it, this film started with the music and attempted to work the plot around it.  Any songs that didn't fit, they just made them into random rock performances throughout the film.  The characters weren't anything special but the singing was.  Diego Boneta's voice is perfect for this rock music and Julianne Hough, while obviously auto-tuned at points, has the grit to pull off the female interpretations of these rock songs.  To me, the highlight of the film are the mash-ups of multiple rock tunes, particularly "We Built This City/We're Not Gonna Take It," "Jukebox Hero/I Love Rock 'n Roll," and "More Than Words/Heaven."  If there is one reason that you should see this film, it is those mash-ups.  Tom Cruise is in the zone as Stacee Jaxx but I was particularly annoyed with Alec Baldwin and Paul Giamatti.  And I'm a huge Paul Giamatti fan!  They threw in a lot of stars like Catherine Zeta-Jones and Russell Brand but truly, if you rent "Rock of Ages," you will be watching it for the musical performances and nothing else.