Usually if there is an AC/DC movie in production, it is on my radar. But somehow the movie I'm about to review for you slipped through the cracks. Until a few weeks ago when it somehow came up in a random search I did on Blockbuster Total Access. It's totally ironic that I was involved in a conversation about foreign films this past weekend and was told I needed to give them a shot. But I don't think Thunderstruck was what my buddy had in mind.
Thunderstruck was a movie filmed and released in Australia back in 2004. I'm pretty sure it never hit theaters here in the U.S. The premise concerns five friends from Sydney who are all big fans of the rock band, AC/DC. After a near death experience, they make a pact that if one of them died, they would be buried next to the grave of the late AC/DC frontman, Bon Scott. After one of them dies, the remaining four travel across the country to Fremantle (where Bon's ashes were scattered) to scatter their friend's ashes over Fremantle Cemetary. What is really strange is that even there are AC/DC homages in the movie, the soundtrack has very little original music from the band in which the movie was inspired by. Probably because Angus and the boys didn't want to be associated with this film one bit! There are some cover versions of AC/DC tunes, but only the actual AC/DC version of Thunderstruck makes it in the film. What the movie Detroit Rock City was for KISS, the same could be said about Thunderstruck with AC/DC. The main theme is about a group of friends on a wild road adventure in an attempt to do something gigantic associated with the band they love. Except Detroit Rock City was God awful. I probably would give the nod to Thunderstruck as the better movie, although it's not a great film by any stretch of the imagination.
This movie has some significance though. The big name in U.S. cinema right now is Sam Worthington. Guess who has twenty minutes of screen time in this picture that I'm sure he would like to remove from his resume? Yep, Sam Worthington. Other than him, there are no big names stars in this film. Not even the real band appears in this movie. Thunderstruck is a fun movie, but nothing too original that makes it stand out from the numerous other movies that has the same basic premise. If you are an AC/DC fan, you definitely have to see this film. Otherwise, I wouldn't recommend it.
Final Grade: B-
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