Dig It

Do great minds think alike? Lock three of them in a room and find out. This is more or less what “It Might Get Loud” tries to do. Just because they can, guitarists Dave “The Edge” Evans of U2, Jack White of the White Stripes and the Raconteurs, and Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin come together and shoot the shit for an hour and a half on camera in an intriguing, yet slightly confusing documentary.

The film takes three different generations of rock ‘n’ roll and places them side-by-side in an experiment with no apparent purpose. The chemistry between the three during their makeshift, artsy “studio” session seems awkward, if not forced. It isn’t until halfway through, during a jam between the three when the film actually seems to be going somewhere. Until then, it is just three separate, unrelated stories: Evans is self-obsessed with his amplifier projecting into a deserted beach; White is completely out of his mind driving around a 9-year-old version of himself; and Page couldn’t care altogether — all of which are undoubtedly signs of genius.

“It Might Get Loud” plays out more like a History Channel special than a feature film. Rather than developing a possible relationship between three living legends, this film drowns itself in recounting milestones of the three stars’ careers. The film is in a constant balancing act: The visuals are strikingly good, but the pacing is slow; the storyline is weak, but the characters are legends; and, the back-story is charged with emotions, but followed up by cheesy transitions.

Should you see this film? Absolutely. Do you want to? Maybe not. Fans will love every second and non-fans will wish they never came. If you’re into the music and the artists, then it is worth checking out. But if hip-hop is your thing, you’ll want to steer clear. The least you’ll get out of the deal is a little insight into the passion that these artists put into their life’s work of rocking out.