Killing Bono

... given that I went watching it without reading a book, seeing trailer, heard which actors are involved or anything else about it.

In case you don't know what is it about, let me repost the plot: "Two brothers attempt to become global rock stars but can only look on as old school friends U2 become the biggest band in the world."

Story is the best part of this movie. Throughout it's entire length I was wondering which way will it go. Will it keep it's mild comedy tone from start to the end, or will it turn to tragedy, given the main character's auto-destructive nature ... or maybe, could it even have some alternative history ending like in "Inglorious Bastards" ? Well, it could have gone either way, and because I don't wanna spoil anything for you, I'll just say I'm most satisfied how it finished.

Also, I have nothing but praises for the cast. Ben Barnes... I'm surprised you still aren't big thing in Hollywood. Weekest link might only be his on-screen brother, the guy with curly hair, but he's not bad enough to ruin the movie ... go watch !

I can see how some people may get annoyed at the protagonist of this story. "Killing Bono" is the story of a chronic loser, and from the outset, he makes every bad choice possible, repeats his bad choices, blows just about every golden opportunity to redeem himself. And all the while he cockily convinces himself that he is the last great idealist on the planet. Who would want to sit through 2 hours of this??

Answer: YOU.

Maybe it's Ben Barnes' charming portrayal of the loser (a bit like John Ritter's charming loser character Jack Tripper on "Three's Company"), maybe it's the wonderfully acidic script, maybe it's the parade of lovably bizarre characters, or maybe it's the suspense of wanting to know if he actually does kill Bono, as the title & opening flash-forward scene tease us. Whatever it is, something about this film will keep you interested & entertained until the very second the end credits roll.

Loosely, very loosely based on the memoirs of Bono's 70s school chum and rival rockstar Neil McCormick, this film depicts some true events such as the anemic rise of Neil's 80s pop band "Shook Up!" (they weren't half bad, check out their videos on youtube) and some not-so-true events that really spice things up in the third act. But since this is a comedy, the fictionalizations are strangely believable if not central to the point of the movie.

"This is not a true story. It is crucial to say that," says director Nick Hamm in the DVD bonus featurette. "You can be real to the story you're telling, but your story doesn't have to be real."

The real Neil McCormick, when asked about the fictional aspects, sheepishly approved: "We all fictionalise ourselves ... I created a version of myself to suit my book ... Now, someone has created an alternative version. As a deluded, fame-obsessed young man, of course, I never doubted that one day someone would make a film of my life. It just never occurred to me it would be a comedy."

That it is. A brilliant & entertaining comedy with a compelling theme driving it. Not many comedies have been able to portray the story of a loser in a fun, vibrant way. But if you're familiar with the obscure gems "Buffalo 66", the documentary "Anvil! The Story of Anvil" or the Aussie rocker "Garage Days", you'll have an idea of the treat you have in store here.

A final note about the music: I think it features only one U2 song ("Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"), but there are some atmospheric bits that sound hauntingly like U2. There's one song by Neil's band Shook Up! entitled "Stop the World", and most of the other songs seem to be new compositions (or new versions) that actually feature Ben Barnes singing. U2 fans may be disappointed because this is not a movie about U2, although it revolves closely around them. In that respect it's a lot like another great comedy "Grand Theft Parsons" about famed singer Gram Parsons' good friend who decides to steal Gram's body after his death.

"Killing Bono" is a creatively-told fiction that flirts with truth but ultimately takes us in the opposite direction. Hey, this formula worked in "Amadeus" (Mozart), "Immortal Beloved" (Beethoven) and "Impromptu" (Chopin). Sure, why not Bono?

I really enjoyed this movie. I have to admit, I initially had NO interest in the story, and only set out to see it to check out Ben Barnes' latest project. But within 10 minutes I forgot about watching "the lovely Mr. Barnes" (which he is not, in this movie) and was genuinely captivated by and became engaged in the story, the characters and the humor. I'd seen clips and responded with a yawn; thought the comedy portrayed in them was obvious and heavy-handed. But the trailer doesn't do it justice. The laughs were real and unexpected and the dialogue quick, natural and enjoyable. All of the supporting characters were excellent. Robert Sheehan, whom I'd never seen in anything prior, did a good job and Barnes disappears into and owns his character. All in all a fun watch, I'd recommend it.

I really wanted to like this film, I really did, but in reality it was simply mediocre. However, it is worth saying that I went into this film not knowing anything about it, and most of the criticisms I formed whilst watching it were made before I found-out that the whole thing was actually based on a true story , which somehow absolves the film of a lot of its sins: The plot was long and meandering, yet bore an uncanny resemblance to the film "Rock Star" (Mark Wahlberg at his finest...?). The acting was questionable bar a great performance from Pete Postlethwaite as the lovable gay landlord. It really bothered me that the band's music (the McCormick Brothers +Shook-up) was actually really good up until their point of stardom when suddenly their musical style was transformed into something that sounded about as 80s as Fall Out Boy... I don't know how much of the soundtrack were original songs written by the band, but I'd be shocked if I found out that the song "Where we want to be" (for example) was an eighties classic. However, there are some criticisms that cannot be excused by the story's supposed authenticity and origins in fact... For example, the film didn't seem to know what it was, too funny to be taken seriously, too dramatic to be a comedy. Therefore many of the jokes were wasted. Despite my aspersions, it has to be said that the casting for the character of "Bono" was impeccable and that added dramatically to the quality of the film- grounding it in reality. Overall, I would say - Questionable acting - Brilliant Casting - A bit on the long side

I was pleasantly surprised by this movie! I had heard that this movie was weird and I had read about it that many was disappointed, but I don't understand it at all. I think it was a really good movie. Not even a minute I got bored and the story managed to keep me interested through the whole movie. In other reviews I have read that you have to be a bit older so that you have experienced the time when U2 was more popular than today but I don't agree at all. I'm fifteen and of course I know who U2 are but not in details. Maybe it's not the funniest comedy but it still laughed and it absolutely lives up to it's expectations in the comedy area and overall I really think this was a very good movie with good actors and I loved the music in it. If you are not sure either to watch this or not I absolutely recommend it, regardless of the age!