Megamind To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Bumpy Chip It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Haven Kaycee It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

pyrocitor If Easy Rider proved the elegiac tombstone for the 1960s American dream, Quadrophenia happily tosses up a v-sign as its British counterpart. It's as rousing and evocative a portrait of youth culture and the stagnation and self-destructive impotence of aimless rebellion as any, with a scrappy sense of "f*ck it" helping keep its angst in check. A cornerstone of '70s British cinema, Quadrophenia may tread (debatably intentionally) familiar ground in its microcosmic coming of age parable in 1960s mods 'n rockers England, but with the guitars, synths, and Daltry blaring and the scooters growling, it's hard not to be swept up in its infectious, furious, and often beautiful listlessness. Although Quadrophenia is adapted from the second rock opera by the almost peerlessly superb the Who, gone are the trippy, surrealist musical trappings of Tommy's big screen debut. Instead, director Franc Roddam skews for gritty period authenticity in conveying the war for 1960s British youth culture, which is strikingly immersive in the uncanny disjuncture between immaculately precise fashion, and the grimy, bloody, and emotionally fraught world the mods and rockers throw down in. We have our uppers: Jimmy grinning infectiously as he trawls around in his beloved scooter, dancing like a maniac on the rafters of a mod club, and the film's centrepiece beach brawl/riot, startlingly believable in its kinetic, infectious, "we are the mods" braying frenzy. We have our downers: Jimmy's burnout downward spiral, being thrown out by a screeching mother and erupting at the prissy boss of his soulless day job, is so flamboyant even one of his mod buds whispers "Is there trouble at home?" like a concerned parent, in one of the film's many viciously funny-sad moments. "Either way," as the band themselves quip, "blood flows," and the music is the film's life-blood here, pounding away with an ace soundtrack by the Kinks and Yardbirds, as well as the incomparable Who. Granted, even in 1979, Quadrophenia's howl of adolescent angst felt like something we'd heard too many times before, amidst the countless radio broadcasts warning of the psychotic epidemic of the "teen-agers" and their flamin' rock music. Still, Roddamn and the Who cough up every ounce of passion in revisiting it, while the inevitable Sting-bellboy twist collapses the entire pipe dream with a hilarious sombre reflexivity. All the while, Roddamn rounds the package with a pinch of haunting iconicity - Jimmy brooding and pacing by the pier at Brighton like a mod Rebel Without a Cause and zooming across the cliffs on his scooter are the definitive ones, but his bug-eyed manic panic, slathered in eyeshadow, on the 5:15 train as the Who's titular track blares is also one for the ages. Familiar as Jimmy's tribulations may be, Quadrophenia pulses with vibrant urgency, lending his journey the all-consuming urgency that only a teenager's crisis can conjure. Apart from the ongoing game of 'spot the future star' in the cast of wholly convincing British supporting players (hi Ray Winstone and Timothy Spall!), Phil Daniels gives a blistering, harshly believable performance as Jimmy, embodying the overstimulating torments of adolescent life with enough of a frantic, scrappy magnetism to remain wanly sympathetic even in the midst of one of cinema's most petulant teen burnouts. Leslie Ash is luminously unpredictable as the object of Jimmy's young lust, and Ash is entirely believable as the party girl out for a lark, but unafraid to lash out at those more hypocritical than her. Finally, an on-the-cusp-of-mega-stardom Sting is beyond perfection as the impossibly suave figurehead of the mods, radiating effortless cool, but with the sublimely, sadly funny twist of him sulkily emasculated, subsumed by the system in his menial bellboy job, looming under his scruffy jacketed nonchalance. Jimmy may feign struggling with a four-way split personality, but his film couldn't be more cohesive and in tune. Rough and tumble, gritty, moody, fun, and genuine as they come, all while roaring along with a riotously awesome set of tunes, Quadrophenia is the real deal. And if it has more passion than profundity or innovation to shed on the angst of growing up, seeing 'the real me,' and finding one's way in a barmy world? Well, that's part of the point, my son. So, grab your bellboy hat and mod jacket, and hop on your scooter. Because no matter what generation you are, Quadrophenia is the lament of 'my generation,' and worth experiencing at full-tilt. -9/10

Stuart Bell I first seen this film as part of a double header backed with "The Kids are alright" by the Who....what a combination eh?! I immediately became a mod and indulged in many a Vespa, Lambretta and a fantastic way of life as a teenager. The story is very straightforward....it's about a Mod called Jimmy and takes us on his journey through everyday life in the mid 60's. There are many highs and many lows, the acting from a then virtual "bunch of unknowns" is fantastic, many went on to become well known faces on TV and film. The only down point of the film for me? I have to say, in one word, Sting. In my opinion he is seriously out of place as "Ace Face"...i was never keen on his acting (or singing!) but i feel he is the weak link here. Phil Daniels is fantastic as Jimmy, the story rips along at a fine pace, the scenery, the music, the clothes....no wonder all these years later i still watch this film...and still own a Lambretta scooter. Quadrophenia is quite simply top class entertainment

jc-osms I'm almost finished reading Pete Townshend's autobiography "Who I Am" and have been listening a lot to the Who's original double album of the same name so the time was right to finally watch the big-screen dramatisation of the record. I'm just a bit too young to remember anything about the vicious Mods v Rockers pitched battles at Brighton or the Mod lifestyle (I'm not sure just how far north it made it up to Scotland, it always seemed to me principally a London-based movement).Nevertheless, the broader themes in the film of the generation gap between teenagers and their parents, the pain of rejection, youthful revolt against authority plus the less intellectual need for young kids to get drunk, drugged, violent and sexed up are universal and seemingly constant, which with the background of great 60's music, made for an engrossing and enjoyable if occasionally challenging watch.This is Phil Daniel's Jimmy Fenton's worm's eye-view of life in the mid-60's, working in a dead-end job, out of touch with his parents and although on the face of it, there doesn't appear to be much to rebel against, sure enough, he loses his way and his mind as he suffers rejection from his employer, said parents, would-be girlfriend Leslie Ash and after seeing his Mod Hero '"ace-face" played by Sting, meekly conform to society mores carrying bags at a hotel, he gets pushed over the edge (literally). His only way out of the tormenting feelings he's experiencing for the first time sadly involve just a one-way ticket.The film adopts a realistic, warts and all approach, with no let-up in the levels of bad language used, scenes of drug use (although it is "only" pill-popping "uppers" or "blues" as they're called in the film) and of course the centre-piece of the film, the recreation of the infamous Mods and Rockers "Battle Of Brighton" of 1965. There's some earthy humour though to leaven things, particularly two Mods encounter in the dark with a bunch of sleeping rockers, although one or two stray elements of sentimentality (Jimmy's heart-to- heart with his long-suffering dad, his friendship with an old pal turned rocker) slightly jar. Fan as I am, I could have done too without the too obvious genuflecting to the film's producers The Who (Jimmy putting on the "My Generation" single at a party, then gazing in awe at the band on "Ready Steady Go"), I guess he who pays the piper and all that.Central to the movie is a superb performance by Daniels as Jimmy, his mood-swings oscillating violently as he takes or comes off his pills, wired to the moon as we say today. His energy and vividness set the tone for the whole film. Interestingly director Franc Roddam (later the creator of "Auf Weidersehn Pet" and, ...er "Masterchef" on TV), changes the ending and placement of songs from the album, but there's no denying the memorable climax to the piece.In the end I was transported not only back into the era depicted, but more importantly into the head of "helpless dancer" Jimmy and would state that the movie well complements the great album The Who originally released, a rarity in "rock" movies.

ianlouisiana Poor Jimmy(Mr P.Daniels),a smart Londoner who wants to belong to something - anything really as long as it gets him out of his house and away from his family(actually a perfectly realised 1960's unit)who represent everything he doesn't want to be. He is a likable 18 year old with a nice line in cheek who rides a motor - scooter very noisily round Shepherds Bush and gets into spots of bother.Entirely innocent compared to our present - day rioters and looters whose nihilism is actually quite frightening. Jimmy wants to have good time.Today's equivalent wants to terrify and destroy. Forty five years ago I was airlifted to Margate to prevent Mods and Rockers spoiling the holiday business.We took the boots off the rockers and corralled the Mods' scooters and it was virtually game over,a few token skirmishes on the beach and off back to the smoke. Scarcely the threat to society they were made out to be,then. Anyway,Social History aside,"Quadrophenia" is full of the energy and passion of directionless youth desperately looking for something to do that will draw the attention of their peers and parents to them."Look at me!I'm taking drugs,fighting,stealing,I am not you,I'm different." With their identical suits,haircuts and scooters,of course. The soundtrack is stirring,the acting fizzing with youthful elan but the final message is bleak for Jimmy and his mates. It's a very accurate snapshot of a time and a place and a picture of the Last Hurrah for white working class youth before the middle class hippies pushed them off the streets and out of the headlines. By 1970,mods were definitely passe,and I,for one,missed the sound of their scooters buzzing round East London,parking outside the cafes and dance halls. I daresay a few cling on,watching their DVD of "Quadrophenia" from behind their triple - locked front door,fearful that their grandchildren will get mugged on the way to get their shopping for them.