Jem and the Holograms

Yeah, yeah... I know that this kind of movie is not my usual cup of tea. In fact, several months ago I caught a couple of episodes of the 1980s animated TV show that this movie was based on, and I thought they were silly crud. The only reason why I decided to watch this movie was that I was curious to see how they would make a "Jem" movie on a budget of just $5 million. I will give the filmmakers this: The movie does look a lot more expensive than it actually is. And I thought that the acting wasn't all that bad. But the movie ultimately fails because of its script. The story is padded out to an excessive level, lasting almost two hours in length; it shouldn't have had to be that long. Well, it could have worked at two hours in length, but as it is, the story is alternately boring and extremely predictable. If you have seen ANY movie before about young people becoming famous, you'll always be one step ahead of this telling. Even if you were a fan of the "Jem" television show, it's unlikely you'll find this live action version endearing.