SpuffyWeb
Sadly Over-hyped
Mathilde the Guild
Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.
Kayden
This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama
Justina
The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
King Critic
I absolutely had to write a review on this movie. Ok, so Tara is this super shy girl, and everyone knows it right? But then, Radio Rebel announces publicly that she wants to let her voice be heard?How is it even a secret who Radio Rebel is? Also her voice isn't even changed, the pitch is the same, her tone, inflections, everything! So those two guys recording her voice and trying to match it to everyone's should match her identity to Tara's in seconds. Or at least know what her voice sounds like!Also, Principal Moreno states that anyone who knows Radio Rebel's identity, and doesn't report it to her, will be in serious trouble. Yet:-Two boys still desperately try to find who she is. (Still knowing they can be suspended for it)-Tara lets her friend Audrey know, even though she knows the dire consequences her best friend may face. (Why?)-People don't draw logical conclusions that Tara is Radio Rebel, even though their personalities and voices are the same.I have a theory that the students know Tara was Radio Rebel all along because of how obvious is was, and that they were too afraid to report her to Principal Moreno because it'd take away their only chance to dance at school.So what do we have here in terms of plot? Nothing, like I just explained, the central conflict is contrived and impossible to function as a story.Characters?None. All are cliches. The stereotypical bubbly best friend (Audrey), the mean principal who wants to shut down all the teenagers voices (Moreno), the guy who wants his music to mean something (Gavin), and the mean popular girl who is in almost every Disney movie (Stacy).And the message? Done over a million times.Pump up the Volume not only worked better as a story, but it included characters who were actual people, not caricatures. They started out and were presented as cliches, but they slowly became more nuanced. Nothing in the narrative shifts like this. Not even a little.It's not a remake of Pump up the Volume, its just a more dumbed down version of its plot. So don't watch this film, go watch an anime, much more complex than this, much more unique, more unique characters/settings etc.... I'd recommend Naruto for beginners, or perhaps My Hero Academia.
Keva Duke
Radio Rebel is about the cliché shy girl that doesn't have many friends, with of course. The predictable twist. She's a beloved anonymous DJ, looked up to by all her school peeps. But they don't know its her. Obviously. It has all the characters and persona's to make the ultimate cringe-worthy teen movie, the mean girl, the crush, the outspoken and slightly over-enthusiastic best friend and most of all: cringe- worthy acting and bad plot.There was, yes some touching and heart-spoken parts of this movie. But nearly every single teen movie has something about "empowering yourself" and "not letting anyone bring you down". Its pretty obvious that this movie tried hard, maybe even too hard. And no doubt Debby Ryan is a good actress, because she wouldn't be where she is now without some good acting chops. But this movie does not make her shine, quite frankly. It does the opposite.I'm sorry to say it myself but I can only be brutally honest in a review, not sugarcoat everything and make you think this movie is good. Because, its not. It's quite cliché, predictable and badly acted. Sorry Debby.
David Jones
This movie is an awful ripoff of the movie "Pump up the volume" staring Christian Slater(1990). I just can"t believe this. I have no words for this. Or maybe I do. Although the original is not a motion picture masterpiece, it conveys the reality of our educational system with a flare of comedy and reality. The Movie "Radio Rebel" Is an absolute stupid ripoff of the movie "Pump Up The Volume". What a lame ass attempt at a remake without remake permission. What really sucks is that I have to wright 10 lines to get this review to show up. I have to fill up two more lines up yet, so I will say the movie called Radio Rebel (2012)Absolutely sucks. Don't watch Radio Rebel. Pump up the volume is much better.
dnshack
Radio Rebel was a poor remake of Christian Slater's Pump Up the Volume, though definitely more in line with Disney movies. PUTV was much darker and edgier. There were unintended consequences for Christian Slater's character that left you wondering whether or not he had done the right thing. In real life, there are two sides to rebellions. The rebel is not always in the right and often hurts innocent people. But Radio Rebel is classic Disney - good for the kids with the "happy ever after ending". I know my daughter likes Debby Ryan and loves those happy endings, but when she is older I will introduce her to movies that better reflect the real world with those less happy but not entirely bad endings.