It Might Get Loud Review

A few days ago, I went to the local art cinema to see It Might Get Loud, a movie about three famous rock guitarists and their philosophies about music and their instruments. I'll say from the start that It Might Get Loud is one of the best films that I've seen in a while -- as a guitarist myself, I really enjoyed listening to these three discuss their past, present and future.

The three guitarists represent three generations in rock music: Jimmy Page is the guitar god from Led Zepplin, Edge (David Evans) is responsible for the distinctive chimey sound of U2 and Jack White (White Stripes) is a back-to-the-blues traditionalist with attitude. To be honest, I had no idea who Jack White was when I walked into the theater and I was prepared to find him obnoxious. Much to my delight, White turned out to be a real guy who cares deeply about music and takes a unique approach to playing guitar. All three men were utterly charming in It Might Get Loud.

It Might Get Loud is well made, and it offers a biography of each muscian. There's plenty of film clips from the past and present, and these are all interesting. They tell the story of how each musician ended up where he is today -- I've always enjoyed history and biography, so this was fascinating. Jimmy Page is British and Edge is from Ireland, and I was concerned that thick accents would prevent me from understanding much of what they said. I shouldn't have worried, as all three spoke slowly and clearly, and were easy to understand. (Jack White is from Michigan, by the way.) In fact, Edge has just a pleasant trace of an Irish accent and mostly sounds American.

The highlight of It Might Get Loud for me was a blues/rock jam all three did on the traditional gospel blues song, In My Time of Dying. (The song was famously on the Led Zepplin album Physical Graffiti.) Each man gets a few turns at lead in this song and the result put a big smile on my face... wonderful.

I was completely charmed by It Might Get Loud and I strongly recommend it to anyone who enjoys rock music, particularly blues-based guitar rock. All three men were delightful, articulate and fascinating, and spending the afternoon with them in the theater was definitely worth the price of admission. I stayed to watch the final song (a middling cover of The Band's The Weight) and all the credits, a sure sign I enjoyed the film.

Rated PG, It Might Get Loud has a little profanity but not too much. Anyone over 12 will be fine and kids as young as 10 could watch this film and enjoy it, especially if they are into Rock Band and Guitar Hero. The guys on the screen are real guitar heros, after all.

I highly recommend It Might Get Loud and give it a strong four-star rating... let's call it 4.5 stars. If you enjoy rock music, blues and guitar, you will enjoy It Might Get Loud.