It Might Get Loud poster & wallpaper

Jack White, Jimmy Page, The Edge

A documentary on the electric guitar from the point of view of three significant rock musicians: the Edge, Jimmy Page and Jack White.

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92% liked it

3,582 ratings

Critics

77% liked it

84 critics

PG, 1 hr. 37 min.

Directed by: Davis Guggenheim

Release Date: August 14, 2009

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DVD Release Date: December 22, 2009

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Flixster Reviews (257)

  • metalnoir
    October 12, 2009
    metalnoir
    Did you ever wonder what would happen if three significant artists defining three consecutive-but-distinct generations convened to talk about their art? This film sets up and delivers one (but certainly not the only) answer to that scenario as Jimmy Page, the Edge, and Jack White...( read more) get together to talk about music and the electric guitar, teach each other a few tricks (and songs), and jam together. Though this meeting is central to the film, it begs to question why a majority of the film-going public would even care. One person whom I spoke to about the film asked me what ?the Edge? was. Certainly as central to the film as the individual players are is the iconic idea of the electric guitar itself: anyone who has ever admired/loved/been awestruck by the electricity of rock ?n? roll, whether it be Chuck Berry, the Stones, T-Rex, or (insert guitar-god band-name here) will understand the intangible wonders of this film. Anyone who has ever been interested in the creative process, whether it be music, visual art, or literature will be absorbed into this meeting.

    Jimmy Page?s credentials need little introduction, though his backstory is fleshed-out in welcome detail here. Most people know him as the guitar-slinging/songwriting/arranging/producing force behind 70s rock-gods Led Zeppelin; those with a little more knowledge will know that he was the third of three guitar proto-heroes to play in the legendary (though under-exposed) 60s blues-based pop-band theYardbirds (Page was the Yardbirds? third guitarist after Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck respectively). Before forging Led Zeppelin?s distinctive blues-thunder, guitar-dominated proto-metal, Page had been an active part of the British music scene for a decade. He?d been playing guitar in street skiffle, television talent shows, and school dances for years before he ?retired? the instrument when he decided to go to art college in the early 60s (against the grain of John Lennon, Jagger and Richards, and David Bowie who were basically art-college dropouts when they went for a career in music, Page had already enjoyed some success as a musician when he left music for art). Obviously, music found Page again as he discovered no end of lucrative work as an English-scene session musician throughout the 60s. It?s amazing to hear Page recount the fortuitous coincidence which resulted in that still-amazing drum-sound in Zeppelin?s ?When the Levee Breaks?. It?s absolutely enchanting to watch the white-haired, aged Page reduced to the wonder of a 14-year-old as he air-guitars and beams while listening to a 45 of Link Wray?s ?Rumble? It?s most fantastic to watch Page interact with the Edge and White--he?s respectful of the other two players to a fault; and the early black-and-white footage of Led Zeppelin playing ?How Many More Times? is, in my opinion, Led Zeppelin and Page at their absolute best.

    Jack White?s style has been compared to Page?s, but his arrival at his sound presents a very different journey. White is stark and photogenic--the camera loves him (think Jagger and Richards circa 1969) whether he?s building a one-stringed electric instrument on his back porch, dramatizing himself (present-day) talking to himself (at age 9) about the wonders of electric music, or playing until his hands are bloody onstage with the Raconteurs. I found it difficult to take everything White says seriously: he still refers to bandmate Meg as his sister; but his storytelling is wonderful just the same--almost a modernized American blues-fable a la Robert Johnson. He reveals that his favorite song has no instruments in it save for vocals and hand-claps; and the minimal guitar/vocal/drummer band format was a revelation for him (no, the White Stripes were not the first, but they?re quite probably the best and easily the most visionary). If Page is the picture of respect, White comes across as a bit of a brat, but a cool, good-natured brat. He?s essentially a punk-rock-visionary, and, thus, on some level he should recognize no authority (and it?s so refreshing for me to see a latter-day punk-rock-visionary who comes across as zero-percent bohunk).

    Though the Edge is a quintessentially iconic and distinctive player/personality for a generation which exists between Page?s and White?s, I must admit that I relate to his approach somewhat less than I do those of the other two. Certainly, the Edge has a distinctive signature-sound, but I can?t think of an example of him using that sound he established on any recording I?ve heard since in the last 10 or 15 years (though many others have, and it always sounds like they?re trying to cop the Edge?s sound). As time progressed, his sound became far more dependent upon electronic effects than the other two players here (something I usually don?t care much for), but watching how meticulously he works to find the sounds he?s happy with is a testament to his artistry. Unlike Page and White, the Edge doesn?t play hot licks and killer riffs--he?s a textural player, and he would rather contribute a layer of shading or mood to a song than write air-guitar hits. That said, he plays fantastically the other two players, and the early clips of a young, hungry U2 playing ?I Will Follow? are as great as I remember them being; hearing the Edge play ?I Will Follow? with Page and White is downright transcendent. More than the other two players in this film, the Edge?s music seems to have lifted him out of the bleak, war-torn existence of his youthful years. In many ways, his story is the most human.

    Beyond all the biographical/theoretical/metaphysical concerns here, the bottom line is that this is a microcosm of the impact of music, the varied approach to the primary tools of the art, and a document of the creative process in action. The film?s finale which shows the three players playing and singing together (a lovely version of the Band?s ?The Weight?) is perfect (but stick around for the credits!).
  • MrOrange8590
    October 3, 2009
    MrOrange8590
    WOW.... WOW. YOURE REALLY COMPARING JACK WHITE TO THE EDGE AND JIMMY PAGE? WOW MAN.
  • nikojunkie
    October 2, 2009
    nikojunkie
    Jack White kicks everyone's ass.
  • babubhaut
    September 29, 2009
    babubhaut
    click for review
  • beevo15
    September 29, 2009
    beevo15
    not a music person I like it.
  • saranm
    September 29, 2009
    saranm
    WANT to see it? That's not the point. WILL, MUST, WHY HAVEN'T I ALREADY seen it is more like it.

    And by the way: could I just point out that Liam Lacey of The Globe and Mail is a complete prat.
  • gmale9000
    September 23, 2009
    gmale9000
    God, The Edge is such a twat. But Jimmy Page doing air guitar to "Rumble?" Makes the entire film. And watching Jack White's face light with glee when Page starts playing "Whole Lotta Love?" Magical.
  • txfilmguy1
    September 21, 2009
    txfilmguy1
    A love-letter to rock and roll, and the instrument of choice for three musical icons, who are just as passionate about music today as they were when they first fell in love with it.
  • jonnycrumley
    August 22, 2009
    jonnycrumley
    I'm a fan off all 3 artists, so I'll be sure to check this out.
  • Gidget22
    August 16, 2009
    Gidget22
    Loved it! I only wish there coulda been more footage of them playing together.

View All It Might Get Loud Reviews

Critic Reviews

September 25, 2009
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail

The trouble is, once you get past the historical information and chummy interviews, you have to put up with the inevitable risk of any ad-hoc jam session: It Might Get Boring. full review

August 28, 2009
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

No self-respecting Led Zeppelin fan could hate a movie that contains extended interviews with Jimmy Page. But that can't change the fact that It Might Get Loud is an empty exercise. full review

August 21, 2009
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Does this sound like rock heaven? It is. full review

August 14, 2009
Edward Havens, FilmJerk.com

I apologize this is more a mash note than critical analysis. full review

August 14, 2009
Kyle Smith, New York Post

For rock fans, hearing many Led Zeppelin and U2 classics on a theater sound system is worth the price of a ticket. full review

August 14, 2009
Claudia Puig, USA Today

It's a pleasure to watch these men perform. These are real-life guitar heroes. But it would have been a treat to see more of them talking shop. full review

August 14, 2009
A.O. Scott, The New York Times

For rock geeks of any age or taste, the lore in this documentary will be catnip. full review

View more It Might Get Loud reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

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