Such a frustrating disappointment

Don't Believe the Hype

best movie i've ever seen.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

I have seen a lot of terrible movies, but this movie is a close contender for the worst movie of all time. It's even worse than Batman and Robin, and I don't say that lightly. This movie literally made me want to rip out my own eyes. We were screaming at the screen: "End! Please roll credits! For the love of God, please end!" And it kept going and going. It is entirely shot in front of a green screen, and no attempts were made to find a real desert (like some sand and some rocks are hard to find!). No attempts were also made to make anything look convincing, such as turning on a fan so the hair of the actors is at least moving while they are driving in an open car. It drags on and on, with very little story to speak of, and yet endless exposition delivered in the worst way possible. It's all carried by awful mellow rock songs, and keeps going and going. And just when you think the movie is over, it gives you yet more terrible songs you have to sit through. Roll those credits already! How is this movie getting such great reviews? Am I even on the right planet here? This movie is horrendous!

I was in town visiting a friend and we happen to walk past an indie theater in down town Albuquerque after eating dinner. We saw the poster for a film called "Road To Hell" was about to start and took a chance that it was decent. The theater was a dump in that Indy vibe way. The director (I think) introduced the film and then it started with recollection look at Streets of Fire which I'd never seen let alone heard of before. Then Road to Hell started. Wow was it different. I'll have nightmares for weeks as it was probably the darkest film I'd ever seen. Its like if Rodriquez and Tarantino or maybe that crazy dutch filmmaker (can't remember his name) who makes those sick art films like Anti-Christ, made a Human Centipede. This movie is just insane with dark moments where your not sure if you can take it. But what makes it work is the amazing camera work. I thought it was the most interesting photography I may have ever seen in a movie. There were a few dodgy shots but taken its entirety, remarkable.Imagine the best surreal art come to life. That's Road to Hell. Had good but not great songs. Did not like the singer who played Ellen. The tight close ups of her face revealed too much nose ring to the point where I could stand it. Its also her songs were sappy but some were effective. Watching her act was better than watching her sing. Pare can do these parts in his sleep. He was solid and shows he's an actor. The bad bitch, Clare Cramer was super hot the way they shot her scenes. Good actress too. Not for everyone because its definitely in the artsy section of films but the photography made it a worthwhile 2 hours.

I attended the Las Vegas screening and I have to say that it wasn't at all what I expected. As a huge Streets Of Fire fan I was expecting more of a sequel or part two as the buzz around the internet suggested. I loved that it went into the darker side of the story and the music was out of this world. Roxy Gunn is stunning and the songs and concert scenes are musical masterpieces! Casting Gunn as Michael Pare and Diane Lane's daughter was brilliant! I'm so glad I got to see this. Again I think this will be a huge cult classic. I think I might even travel to a few other film festivals so I can see it again. I can't wait to get this on DVD.

I was going to wait until I had a chance to see the finished film because what I saw at the Fantastic Fest last year was almost too rough to watch. I must admit that even with the poor projection and clearly unfinished effects shots, the film packed a powerful if disturbing emotional wallop. At times I was so shocked by the rage fueled violence set to rock ballads that I could feel myself flush and even swept by a wave of momentarily nausea. The film is one that will split audiences because it really puts forth the depressing idea that for even larger than life iconic heroes, life can turn disappointing and desparing. I don't think I've ever seen a film that takes a dashing heroic figure as a youth and then shows us the ruins that is his life 20 years later. In a weird way it was an analogy for me to wars like Viet Nam where youth is idealistic, filled with life only to return home a shell of a man. That's what we have here. An almost super human and stoic hero reduced to a destructed, bitter man. He's delusional in the hope he can be saved. Pare does a masterful job in bringing Cody's pain, desperation, and confusion to life. It's the best performance in his career. Clare Kramer is very very good too. Her character must be one of the most obscenely vile person ever portrayed on screen. What is amazing is how she can be so ugly and yet so breathtakingly sexy in the same moment. I really want to withhold final judgment as the film did say it was a work in progress. The movie has definitely stayed with me. It screened with Pare's Streets of fire and that made the contrast of Pare even more striking. He's so young and youthful in Streets and so grimly weathered in Road To Hell. It's one of the more shocking things to see. Like one of those where are they now things where you see a sweet face then the now shows the image of a ravaged meth addict. You wonder how did one go from sweet to horrific? In a nutshell that's what this film explores.