Wow! Such a good movie.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

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.

First, I grew up watching Jem and had the doll and all. So when his came out I had to see it. I'm so glad I did and now I'm even watching it over and over on HBO. It was heart warming, fun, great music, and showed creative characters that teen girls can look up to. A clean, fun film that doesn't make me question if it's appropriate. This 39 year old loves the film. Great job with casting. Awesome tunes. So creative for today's young people. Good strong teen young ladies that are a great role-model today. Give it a chance and clear your mind if what your night think it should be. It's a good story about a family different from the "normal". Wooot!

I was unsure if I would like this movie but now that I have seen it I am in love with it. I have watched it twice in the last week and have listened to the album multiple times. This movie has made me happier than I have been in years (it is sad that more people do not like this movie). Its story may seem simple a the character development a little predictable but this is a solid movie that moves me in a positive way. I hope that the cast and crew are PROUD of this movie and hope that more people discover this gem among so many "standard" Hollywood movies that have been coming out. In short, watch this movie with an open mind and you might find yourself amazed at what you could discover.

It always amazes me when the big shots of Hollywood decide to adapt a popular property into a film and then change everything about it and expect the fans not to notice. "Jem and the Holograms" is yet another such cautionary tale, proving once again that for an industry whose job it is to figure out what people like, they can still be surprisingly clueless.For those who don't know, "Jem" was an unmistakably 80's cartoon about an all-female rock band fronted by two sisters, whose deceased father left them an insanely advanced computer that could produce realistic holograms which the heroine, Jerrica Benton, used to alter her appearance and live a double life as a world famous rock star. There was also a rival girl group called the Misfits who, with their unscrupulous manager, Eric Raymond, sought to unseat Jem from the top of the charts. I remember it being notable because of the fact that, despite being a show targeted towards girls, it seemed to connect with boys as well.OK, Now forget all that. Jerrica and her band are now foster teenagers, Eric Raymond is a woman who now owns the company that Jerrica originally owned, and is the mother of Jerrica's future boyfriend, Rio. Synergy has gone from a supercomputer to a tiny robot with missing pieces scattered all over Los Angeles County. Drummer Shana is no longer black. The Misfits do appear but only at the very end for a sequel hook. It comes off as more of a cross between "Hannah Montana" and "Earth To Echo." This movie tries too hard to be hip. Jerrica gets discovered through Youtube, and lip service is paid to twitter and instagram throughout the movie. I understand thinking a younger audience would be turned off by the big hair and gaudy costumes of the original but in doing so, they likely alienated older fans and the movie is so bland it failed to excite younger ones.This movie is also crippled by a woefully tight budget. Jem's live performances are in small clubs vainly dressed and shot to look bigger than they are. Footage of Jimmy Fallon, Duane Johnson, and Chris Pratt are used to emphasize Jem's fame but their quotes are obviously out of context and the editing is bungled horribly. One of the most baffling decisions is to use random Youtube clips for scene transitions, montages, and even in place of music cues or camera work to build tension. In other spots, Google Earth is used for location transitions and at one point they don't even hide the logo.The script is filled with odd plot twists and the characters frequently behave like idiots. For starters, these people have little understanding of the music business. Erica Raymond signs Jerrica after one viral video with a paltry 35K views in Jerrica's own house because who needs an office? Then Jerrica refuses to sign unless she can bring her band despite the fact that her bandmates are an unproven commodity and Erica actually acquiesces. Of course, evil Erica eventually seduces Jerrica to go solo out of desperation to save her aunt's mortgage and Jerrica just signs without going to her friends for help.The Synergy robot awakens upon arriving in LA and leads them on a wild goose chase for its missing parts just to give Jerrica a farewell video from her dad. Her dad is seen in flashbacks constantly doting on Jerrica but acting like her sister doesn't exist. Synergy's final missing part is Jerrica's star earrings which Erica has locked away in her office. Does she simply ask Erica for them? No, she decides to break in at night and steal them, not to mention the ridiculous deduction involved in figuring out they were the last piece. Finally, Rio just happens to find his father's will in the safe with the earrings naming him the owner of Starlight Records. Wouldn't the family lawyer have told him this already? The worst part is that this film has hardly any music. The cartoon managed to feature three songs in its half-hour episodes and didn't reuse them until years later. They weren't always good, but it couldn't have been worse than the bland tween pop featured here. There are only really three songs (four if you count the acapella on the pier with Rio) and the only one that even barely rises above mediocrity is "Youngblood." The performances are probably the best part of the movie though that's not saying much. Aubrey Peeples as Jerrica is OK, not great. The other girls do all right despite not having much of a character. Juliette Lewis gives the best performance mainly because, as the villain, she gets to have the most fun. The worst performance is from Kesha's brief cameo as Pizazz at the end. She tries to be wicked with her one big line, but mostly comes off looking stoned. I'm almost glad there won't be a sequel because she would likely ruin it.I really don't understand what they were thinking here. "Jem and the Holograms" is an insulting, poorly made cash grab that deserved better and the worst part is that movie studios will use its failure as a reason not to give it another shot. It's one of those movies that makes you wonder why they didn't just call it something else if they weren't going to be faithful to the source material. It's also one of those movies that makes you think it turned out the way it did because the studios feared a faithful adaptation wouldn't be successful, and maybe it wouldn't have been, who knows? It certainly couldn't have done worse than the (current) fourth lowest wide screen theater gross and getting yanked from theaters after two weeks, I know that.