YouHeart I gave it a 7.5 out of 10

Maidexpl Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

Izzy Adkins The movie is surprisingly subdued in its pacing, its characterizations, and its go-for-broke sensibilities.

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

Sean Ang This film is directly based on an concept album by the British rock band The Who.Tommy tells the story of a boy named Tommy Walker,who after witnessing his stepfather kill his actual father, became blind,deaf and dumb due to shock. He then found a pinball machine when he was a teenager and started winning competitions and helped his family became rich. Later in the movie, his mother is frustrated that he kept looking at his reflection in the mirror and then push him so hard that he broke the window, which then miraculously cured him. He then started a cult based on his miracle, but then people realized it is a fake and then violently revolt on him, causing his parents to die and him being depressed again.The film has no dialogue, it uses the lyrics and the music from the album to tell the story, similar to Pink Floyd's The Wall. It also have famous movie and music stars like Eric Clapton, Tina Turner, Elton John, Jack Nicholson and of course The Who, in which the lead singer Roger Daltery and drummer Keith Moon played characters in the film.The reason why I liked the film is because the music, actors and actresses expressions in order to give the film more drama and overall quirkiness feel make this film a recommendation to Rock fans and The Who fans.

Leofwine_draca TOMMY, a film version of The Who's rock opera musical, is an exercise in everything 1970s: horrid fashions, glam rock, complete excess in terms of story, filming style, and the like. But then you'd expect nothing else from infant terrible director Ken Russell (THE LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM), a guy who could film an old man walking down the street and turn it into something campy and unrealistic. Still, Russell's out-there style, complete with zooms and dizzy editing, is part of the charm, I reckon.The story is a series of set pieces about the rise of a pinball wizard, played by an enjoyable Roger Daltrey, and the religious cult that forms around him. In reality, though, it's a series of vibrant songs, each seeking to eclipse the former, delivering excess after excess. The list of cameos from musicians and stars is endless: Jack Nicholson, Eric Clapton, and Tina Turner are just a few of the appearances here, although my favourite is Elton John with those crazy trousers and boots. The music's pretty good and I did enjoy the visuals, which are as colourful and over the top as some gaudy Christmas decorations. See it to believe it!

moogyboy My introduction to the "Tommy" franchise was the soundtrack LP. I've been into classic '60s and '70s rock ever since I was a tot, thanks to my older brothers' record collections, and was already very familiar with The Who when I discovered the soundtrack to the present movie (noting that it was an anomaly being on the Polydor label, me associating the band with Decca and MCA...that's the kind of young music geek I was). The songs definitely had a storybook-like quality reminiscent of the Disneyland LPs I had, but even then I thought the over-the-top synthesizer arrangements were a little too melodramatic for my tastes. Years later I got my hands on an original copy of The Who's 1969 original version, and was shocked by how low key, stripped down, and slowed down the songs were--and also how sketchy the story was as presented on the original LP, if you could even call it a story. Some of the songs worked better on the original, some better on the soundtrack. It was interesting.But in all those years I never watched the movie until just tonight, on YouTube. For the first time, the soundtrack actually makes sense. I realized that the movie wasn't nearly as serious as some of the music suggested when played out of context--I was shocked by the outrageous black humor in the first half of the movie. Take Tommy's ordeal at the hands of his grinning Cousin Kevin. Years of listening to the record had conditioned me to expect it played straight. There is some pathos in there at seeing poor Tommy stumbling over helplessly when getting sprayed with the hose, but then it's balanced by the intentionally ridiculous gag of Kevin literally ironing the dripping Tommy dry (spitting on the iron for emphasis). Visually it's a tour de force, that's for sure. Ken Russell, the notoriously over-the-top director, loads on the razzle dazzle, quick cut and dramatically lit, and with lots of pre-CGI optical effects thrown in for good measure. Some quite beautiful photography in there. And in places, when it's not trying to be satirical or campy, quite powerful dramatically. Captain Walker's presumed death in the war, for instance, or the messianic closing shot.It's blessed by an amazing cast, headed up by the surprisingly capable Roger Daltrey in the title role. It's easy to see here why he was one of the most charismatic pop stars of the '70s, and he's no slouch as an actor either. While I admit it's kind of fun to see this macho rock god getting manhandled by various people, it's also impressive how physically agile he is (blasting through the water with an Olympic-style butterfly stroke, for example, or doing cartwheels down the beach). The other real star of the movie is Ann-Margret playing his mother (despite being only four years older than him), a sultry sexpot with a hell of a voice. One can't take one's eyes off her, there's a reason she was such a immense star back in the day. Oliver Reed's "Uncle" Frank is such a lout that his tone-deaf Cockney bellowing fits the role in a way a polished singer-actor could never do. Jack Nicholson shows up in a minor one-scene role as a doctor; many have commented on his singing ability or lack thereof, I think he gives his song an appropriately genteel treatment, even if he totally ignores the original version's melody. As everyone knows, several rock personalities make appearances in one song apiece. Tina Turner makes the biggest impression imo as the unhinged Acid Queen, while Eric Clapton sleepwalks through his big movie debut like a coat rack with a Les Paul hanging from it. Elton John, however, given the film's show-stopping number, unfortunately comes off as something of a schlemiel, pathetic, petulant pointing his finger and pouting. I really expected him to be this cocky smug baddie, a real menace for Tommy to overcome. Instead I felt pity for the Local Lad--he just kinda stands there at a distance complaining while Tommy plays pinball. What a letdown! Of course I must mention Keith Moon's gleefully insane Uncle Ernie, and Paul Nicholas's Cousin Kevin as among the more successful character bits played by rock stars. There isn't really a bum performance among all the other minor players.I could go on and discuss the deeper emotional and spiritual meaning of the movie, but since it's late here I'll just close by pointing out what I mentioned in my summary. It took making a movie out of "Tommy" to force Pete Townshend to flesh out his half-baked (but musically wonderful) concept into an actual story. The expanded music may not be to everyone's liking, but the story is complete, and as presented here it is a compelling one, and relentlessly entertaining. See it.

rooprect "Tommy" is a surreal experience. While not quite as over-the-top as the psycho-erotic "Barbarella" (1968) and not as incomprehensible as the psycho-mindfreak "Head" (also 1968), this movie certainly delivers a wild ride.The plot is about a blind, deaf-mute boy who suffers abuse after abuse, eventually finding his salvation as a pinball prodigy. The spectacle instantly turns him into a cult figure, and from there things get really weird. According to writer/guitarist Pete Townshend, "Tommy is an attack on the hypocrisy of organized religion," and there is certainly no question about that. Religious themes and symbols constantly crop up throughout the film, including, but not limited to, the statue of the Madonna (an outrageously suggestive sculpture of Marilyn Monroe), various images of medieval Catholic torture devices, and of course the iconic "T" for "Tommy" symbol (take a guess). The satire is laid on pretty thick.As I just described it, you might think the movie is predictable, and to a certain degree it is. But the film's complexity and power come from the presentation which is just weird enough to keep you guessing while not so weird that you'll lose focus. With unique visuals and music, it takes a tongue-in-cheek comedic approach which gives the director license to get away with murder. An example would be the scene where Tommy is being molested by various family members to the tune "Fiddling Around Fiddling Around". Don't ask how such a disturbing concept can be presented in a silly way but it is.Another memorable moment is when Ann-Margaret's character has a sort of mental breakdown that begins with her drinking champagne in a luxurious, white room and ends with her squirming around in 500 gallons of baked beans. Yeah I told you this movie is weird.Director Ken Russell achieves a strange balance between "Willy Wonka", "The Life of Brian" and "Zardoz". While Roger Ebert criticized him for going too far, I actually feel like he was pretty conservative compared to other rock musicals of the time (like "The Wall", "Magical Mystery Tour" and the aforementioned king of wtf-musicals: "Head").Notable appearances by Elton John, Tina Turner and Jack Nicholson add more fun to the mix. And it should go without saying, if you're a fan of The Who, you can't miss this movie.