Best movie of this year hands down!

Absolutely the worst movie.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Entertaining 80s musical tale is self-important, posturing, and as cinematic as star Michael Pare's mustache, fake sideburns, and pompadour. Too bad the script's philosophical ramblings, these mumbled prophetically by our curiously musclebound and surly star, are so contrived, they almost rival the movie band's music. Warning: if you're as terrified by 12-bar blues numbers and shrieking rock n' roll saxophone as I am, you might not last the film. Even more challenging, Pare's words in defense of the wretched soundtrack are certainly delivered with passion: "You gotta play music that's got something to say, not something to show!" The iconic rock-star-from-the-grave, Eddie Wilson (Pare'), now doomed to either reclaim his crown or pout in obscurity (in Toronto, CA.) later delivers dialog about hearing some kind of earth tones while stranded in a desert. If this noble form of environmental muse music comes in the form of John Cafferty and Beaver Brown Band, who composed the movie's nauseating score, I'd have to say Eddie Wilson's biceps exceed his brain capacity. Musicians can't help but delight in the movie's totally uninformed--and moronic--truths revealed about everything concerning rock bands. It's very likely 80s gang members found more accuracy in their depiction in the "Death Wish" movies. The band members vary quite a lot in appearance, ranging from body-building (and shirtless) Manowar types in tight jeans to Pare's Elvis-meets-Bruce Springsteen persona to a nerdy Power Station keyboardist to a geeky metal guitarist, whose Joe Satriani shredding enables the movie its funniest scenes of Pare' "educating" the idiot on how lead guitar's "got to live, man! It's got to breath!". Meanwhile, the black rock n' roll saxophonist clogs too many songs and rehearsals with more soloing(!) Even more one-dimensional and baffling (and anti-Semitic) are the characterizations of the movie's diabolical Jewish producers, who provide hateful stereotypes wanting to further exploit poor Eddie Wilson's talent. One fumbling Hebrew musicologist named Schindler(!) appears in a t.v. segment worthy to rival one Isaac Abrahams, soon to appear in the Depth Charge production of "Naples Never Dies...It Shoots!" Lots to enjoy here, from the dancing 80s extras in the club scenes--many seen earlier in "St. Elmo's Fire", dancing to Rob Lowe's saxophone solos--to Pare's breaking into song so bogus, audio-wise, it's reminiscent of "Dr. Doolittle". Definitely a worthy sequel to "Eddie And The Cruisers", and warranting a double-feature.

You can't possibly have made a worse sequel than this. It relates nothing to the original except for Michael Pare being in it. They totally wrote off Frank, Joann, Kenny, heck even Doc. Like this was going to work without all them in there. Plus the music which was great in the original soundtrack is at best average here. You want a good sequel to the first cruisers soundtrack, get John Cafferty's Tough all over album. Now thats really good. For the people who like this lousy movie, you obviously never saw the original. Which is by far superior in every way to this garbage. This is movie is a total disappointment. But when you get none of the original cast, writers or director, this is what you get. Eddie doesn't live in this bomb. He really drives his car into the drink.

Saw the 2 movies again on TV recently (saw them first about 10 years ago) and loved them just as much as the first time around, probably more. "Eddie Lives" is my favorite though - it has great music from start to finish, John Cafferty's voice is marvellous and he has come up with some truly good songs, songs that sound as good today as ten years ago when I bought the soundtrack. The movie has a touching story line and a hunk of a lead in Michael Pare. The final 'huge crowd' scenes are amazing - you wonder how they managed to get the crowd go "Eddie, Eddie!!" Have now bought the movie on DVD and watch it whenever I need a'feel good' movie.

The "Eddie and the Cruisers" story had such potential for a great sequel; I always felt that the end of the original movie had more questions unanswered than the beginning. That's why I was so interested in seeing a sequel. Unfortunately, the sequel very much disappoints, not because it is such a bad movie but because it is not nearly as good as it could have been.I don't fault the actors so much as I do the writer(s) in particular and the director. The movie is full of every record/music industry cliché one can think of. The actors are given dialog and made to look like a point in time. Yes, it was made in the glitter 80s, but one of the strengths of the "Eddie" story to me at least was the timelessness of the man and his music, and while the music itself in the film upholds that, all the people making the music are made to look like an 80s glam band.Except for Eddie himself. I've always like Michael Pare, especially in the original Eddie and in Streets of Fire. These roles were perfect for his looks and his on screen personality. In this sequel, he maintains the continuity with the original character. It's just too bad that he wasn't given a more subtle and fuller script to show how twenty years changes a man whose life had gotten to the point that he felt the need to disappear and start over.