Cadillac Records (2008)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

I honestly thought this movie was yawn, there was no upbeat but instead, it was just dull and pulling out different singers one by one. It made the movie become more confusing for me to know what really is happening with the legendary stars who have signed up to this Chess Records company.If the maker of the movie didn't have to pile a lot of stars on this, it would make life easier to watch and enjoy this biography movie. However it just made it complicated for me to go on further and I was disappointed really. Although I am not a big fan of Beyonce, I thought one song wasn't enough for her to keep the movie going smoothly..Waste of time this was!

I wish I could say I loved this movie. The artists at Chess Records have been my heroes for more than thirty years. I really wanted to love this movie, but I just couldn't.It wasn't the historical errors, but just a whole lot of really bad acting, and the way certain performers (Jeffrey Wright as Muddy Waters) turned incredibly powerful, charismatic creative people into boring, drippy, whining losers. What's even more frustrating is that Mos Def is passable as Chuck Berry, and Eamonn Walker totally nails Howlin' Wolf -- but those two actors get about five minutes of screen time.And of course, just to pander to the vast audience dying to see Adrien Brody and Beyonce make out (????) we get a pointless and non-historical "love affair" between Etta James and Leonard Chess.And just when it can't get any dumber, we have Willie Dixon's voice over, which must have been put in for all the eight year old kids who were presumably dying to watch this movie and learn about the blues. ("Ya see, an acoustic guitar is fine when they ain't nothing' but empty fields around you, but in the city you gots to have . . . an electric guitar.") Thanks for clearing that up, Willie.This is me, banging my head against the wall.

Cadillac Records is a fairly decent attempt to capture the flavour of a bygone era coupled with a fairly poor stab at exploring racial prejudice in 1950s US. But perhaps the film's biggest flaw is that it simply tries to cram too much history into an inadequate running time. Adrian Brody plays Leonard Chess and he's as good as you'd expect - but he's still overshadowed by Jeffrey Wright's portrayal of blues legend Muddy Waters. In fact, a more focused story was available to the makers in the relationship between Muddy Waters and the talented but self-destructive Little Walter. Beyonce Knowles also gives a stylish performance as Etta James, another damaged but immensely talented singer. The music is great and the film looks great, but the way in which the film whirls through the history of Chess Records means we never really get an in-depth understanding of its characters.

Cadillac records has a fantastic soundtrack. Having said that, personally I think it would have worked better as a mini-series. There are so many characters that it's difficult to focus on just one. Nevertheless, many actors shine in their roles. Adrien Brody tackles a difficult role with his usual ease. The fabulous Jeffrey Wright is a stand-out, Mos Def is an irrepressible Chuck Berry and Gabrielle Union is quietly impressive in a supporting role. Beyonce, however, in a key role of Etta James is woefully miscast and her acting talents are dubious. The script is good, the set-pieces attractive and the film is beautifully shot.