Highly Overrated But Still Good

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

I had never seen this until now (Sep 2017). John Travolta had quite the impressive body and the prettiest of eyes. And I also thought Finola Hughes looked a bit like Catherine Zeta Jones. There's some great dancing in this and of course the music of the 70's/80's was good as well. The Bee Gees knew a thing or two about life and living and it was turned into the title of this movie. Hmmm....I just don't understand why the low rating? I thought John Travolta and Finola Hughes had cool attitudes (a bit over-confident and/or cocky), but there's nothing wrong with that. It makes for interesting dialogue, for sure. I hope others watch this and lift it up because it's not as bad as the rating makes it seem.

First of all, the best way to most accurately judge this movie is to see it YEARS after having seen Saturday Night Fever. This movie stands alone VERY VERY WELL, the music (soundtrack) is FANTASTIC, the acting is great (seriously), and the humor (script) is SO under-appreciated!!! This is a SUPER great follow up story to Tony Manero's success in the Brooklyn dance clubs; it doesn't over-do his newfound "success" in Manhattan and it doesn't under-do it, either. It is SO REALISTIC. It is an honest to God SHAME that people talk so badly about this movie. THIS IS A GREAT MOVIE. The only sad thing about Staying Alive is to see John Travolta looking so incredibly fit and handsome and to see what he has become after all these years.... I swear, the man was an absolute perfect physical specimen (!) Not that I'm much of a Travolta fan... but just watch the movie -- look at him in the movie, then look at him now.... Now THAT's SAD, but Staying Alive is a GREAT MOVIE and should be watch and appreciated with a new eye by the millions of us whose lives were so changed and so uplifted by the phenomenon that was Saturday Night Fever.

Under the direction of gifted film maker Sylvester Stallone, John Travolta gives what is arguably one of his finest performances, one that is indeed more polished than that given in the original Saturday Night Fever. In this underrated sequel, Travolta's character has more depth and humanity and stunning realism. The look of the film is truly splendid and Stallone captures an environment of incredible sexual tension as well as artistic mystery. The Manhattan locations are glamorous yet stark, threatening and inviting, and photographed stylishly. Staying Alive is much more than a sequel and is a magnificent stand alone story of a young man challenging himself to succeed and to make his dreams come true through dance.

After reading countless raving or at least positive reviews for this film, I felt that I needed to air a sane opinion.I recently watched Staying Alive on a cable network, 32 years after its original debut. The same reasons why the movie did not work then are present now. It was dated (seemed worlds away from 1977 yet felt out of joint in 1983). The acting outside of John Travolta (who, give the evil his due, was excellent) was wooden. Finola Hughes and Cynthia Rhodes had zero chemistry with Travolta (oddly, Tony Manero's "fan club" had an excellent charge with John). Even the sorry "walk back to Brooklyn sequence" failed to stir a link to the previous Saturday Night Fever.Sum it up to bad writing, worse acting, and yes, awful direction. And when Frank Stallone has the best song in the soundtrack (Far From Over), you know you are in deep trouble. Staying Alive is not the worst flick that you will ever see. But it will leave the viewer to think what could have been if the ghosts of the Disco Era had truly been left behind. And, if Travolta had a better cast and script to work with.