Kailansorac Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

Brainsbell The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

ironhorse_iv Dust off, your vinyl collection, it's time to rock out to the glam hair bands of the 1980s. Much like the original movie, 1981's 'The Decline of Western Civilization', and its later sequel, 1998's 'the Decline of Western Civilization Part III", also directed by Penelope Spheeris. The second film of trio musical documentaries of hers, is less about, why & how the music scene, came to be, but more on the positive & negative effects of the hedonism lifestyle choices, the people involved with it, has taken. Featuring interviews with such popular musical acts like Kiss, Aerosmith, Poison, Alice Cooper, & others, also showcasing up and coming, unknown bands, like London, Lizzy Borden, Odin and Seduce through musical performances; the documentary electrifyingly chronicled the hair metal scene, from 1986 until 1988. Without spoiling the film, too much, I was deeply surprised, how many marquee names, the documentary has for a 1 hour and 33 minute movie. It's a who's who of prominent rockstars from that era of music. It was pretty cool to see them, all in one movie. However, I would had love to see more emphasis on getting acts like Guns & Roses, Quiet Riot, Val Halen, and Mötley Crüe to name a few, into the documentary to make the LA music settling, more personal & grounded. Scenes like involving the Rainbow Bar & Grill & Gazzarri's Club felt lacking, because of those bands absence. Besides, Motorhead's Lemmy, the famous musicians in the film, barely related to those locations; so scenes like the dancing contest at Gazzarri's come across as jarring and time-wasting. All of those talking sequences with the club promoters could had been cut; along with the die-hard fans spilling useless knowledge. The movie is already crammed with so many talking heads. So, why waste time on them? When Spheeris could had done, better, by getting those bands, I mention, to speak. Maybe, these bands could had given the film, a more in-depth insightful look into what it takes to be, in a hair metal band in Los Angeles; instead of, the silly surface level, highly repetitive, deadpan humor information, we, the audience, got, from these airheads. Because of this, the film felt more about a mockumentary like 1984's comedy film, 'This is Spinal Tap' than a serious rockumentary like VH1 TV Series 'Behind the Music' (1997-2014). We never truly get the serious emotional & informative complexities; a documentary like this, should have. Not only that, but it's not really that heavy, besides one, really off-putting, notorious interview with a drunken, Chris Holmes from WASP. The movie doesn't really expose much, the harsher, darkest side of the industry like the sexism, violence or living in a life full of excess. Nor, was the subject material, even that metal. Where were the performers, usually with fast percussive beats and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work? The only one, I notice was Megadeth. Don't get me wrong, some of the songs have highly amplified distortion, extended guitar solos, emphatic beats, with singers singing with overall loudness; but most of the time, it sound like something from glam rock. The lyrics is another thing doesn't sound metal. Most metal songs often deal with social issues and criticism of the Establishment, using direct and denunciatory language, an approach borrowed from hardcore punk. Songs like "Cathouse" & "Bathroom Wall" were not only cheesy, but felt out of place. In truth, the subtitle for the movie should had been call 'the hair metal years', than the latter. Regardless of that, most of the music in the film was somewhat entertaining to listen to; despite nearly sounding the same. Only one bands feature in the documentary, honestly irritate me was Faster Pussycats. The lead singer for that band is really, really, bad with his cringe-worthy creaking vocals & over the top aesthetic. No wonder, why the excesses of glam metal created a backlash against the genre; creating the rise of grunge & thrash. You kinda do see it, in the final performance in this film. It's very foreshadowing. However, the film doesn't really talk about the rise of LA's hip-hop. That was another big factor in destroying the glam metal scene. Overall: While, the film doesn't have the informative depths that something like 2006's documentary, 'Heavy: The Story of Metal' or the raw edge of the first movie in Spheeris's series; it still worth watching for the amusing musical acts and the hilarious sequences that follow, even if some of them, were highly exaggerated & staged, such as Ozzy Osbourne making breakfast scene & the amount of Vodka that Chris Holmes drinks. It's probably the most fun of the three 'Decline of Western Civilization' films. I just wish, it didn't jump around, as much. It needed a little more narrative structure, rather than rapid-fire series of interviews. Still, it's one documentary worth headbanging too. So, mosh over and go find it!

julian kennedy The Decline of Western Civilization Part 2: The Metal Years is the second of three documentaries about youth music movements. The first was a groundbreaking look at the punk rock scene in 1981. This follow-up concentrates on the Glam Metal scene in Los Angeles in the mid-eighties. While certain scenes from the documentary have become legendary over the years the overall effect is all over the place. Unlike most music documentaries from the era, it is very well filmed with good sound that holds up today.The Good: About halfway through the film there is one of the funniest things I have seen all year. Singer Randy O fronting Odin is performing in assless chaps. He borrowed them for the concert. It is a something that wouldn't be out of place in a Borat movie. In fact, the entire Odin segment is comedy gold combining the Borat vibe with grandiose quotes that wouldn't be out of place in This is Spinal Tap. Other highlights include Ozzy Osbourne cooking breakfast (he does so well till its time to pour the orange juice... so close.) And Lemmy being cool when everyone else (I am looking your way Paul Stanley) is simply trying too hard.The Bad: The bands; while the original The Decline of Western Civilization certainly didn't have all winners they at least had some bands that would later become famous (Black Flag) and some and that was actually good (X). The Decline of Western Civilization Part Two consists of one horrible band after another. Another challenge is that interviews with dim and inebriated adolescents rarely provide what one would call insight. The filmmaker certainly lets them dig their own holes but obvious questions are often left on the table. (Do you wear makeup and dress like a girl because you are in the band or did you join the band to wear make-up and dress like a girl seems to be an obvious softball just hanging there for some of these guys.) There are also very silly asides that drag the movie out such as an interview with the LA prosecutor investigating the Heavy Metal scene and an endless sexy rock and roll dance contest that is neither sexy nor rock and roll.In Conclusion: It is easy to forget with today's youth filming every moment of their lives how rare it was in the eighties for someone to point a camera at you. So as a document of this specific place and time the film certainly does a decent job. Glam Metal was dead as disco within a few years and almost everyone involved had to get real jobs. I am sure that many look back with a smile on their face and a shake of the head at their youthful folly. A fun time for those who remember those days.

Scott LeBrun Full disclosure time: this viewer is a metalhead, and has been for over 30 years, since discovering bands like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden. Yet somehow catching this documentary, itself almost 30 years old now, eluded him. A follow up to director Penelope Spheeris' earlier definitive punk rock documentary, its focus on the men (and women) who make hard rock and heavy metal is certainly a natural progression, since so many parental and authority figures abominated these genres as well.The film mostly consists of sit down interviews with some of the reigning kings of the genre and the confident (you could easily call them overconfident) up and comers of the era sharing their thoughts. Not surprisingly, it's the veterans like Lemmy, of Motorhead, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of KISS, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, and Ozzy Osbourne, that tend to offer the most interesting observations and anecdotes. There is one interview, however, with W.A.S.P. guitarist Chris Holmes, filmed as he lounges in a swimming pool while his mother (!) looks on. It goes from amusing to disconcerting in a hurry.The notion of "Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll" is very much on the minds of various interviewees here. Viewers should be prepared for some pretty frank dialogue. One thing that sobers you up quickly is seeing how many of the young turks proclaim that their lives would have no more meaning if they couldn't play their music. Obviously, the aspirations of groups like London, Odin, and Seduce for super stardom didn't pan out, and as Poison front man Bret Michaels points out, it is important to stand out from the pack in some over crowded genres.The sequences with Bill Gazzari, the so-called "Godfather of Rock 'n' Roll", only serve to add a titillation factor (not that some people will complain about that, mind you), and interviews with an anti-metal authority figure will likely get some viewers hopping mad.I found it interesting that Megadeth, one of my favorite acts from this era, are saved for near the end, given that they're one act that's portrayed as actually caring more about the music than fame and lifestyle.Overall, decent entertainment with a variable soundtrack (some of the new music is okay, some of it not so good).Seven out of 10.

xexyz1022 During the late 80's I was a teenage rocker obsessed with metal. I bought all the magazines, had the cassettes and draped my rooms with posters of rock stars. I had the metal shirts, leather jacket and requisite metal jewelry. Of course I had the long hair. I loved that time period and remember renting this movie and watching it over and over again. Every band seemed like they were having the time of their life with the drugs, girls and booze. It seemed that this scene was the IT scene back in the day. This movie has so many awesome scenes. It starts with the glam newcomers then goes into the veterans and ends with Dave Mustaine who is one of the only real people in this whole movie. Dave seems like he is into the scene to play music and not to score chicks or radio hits. Odin is great also as they insult and degrade women but are hounded by the metal sluts. The part where they are at Gazzaris "judging" a dance contest is hilarious. Odin in the jacuzzi with the sluts is great, "It's like we have a check for a million dollars but no bank to cash it in!" Ha! Paul Stanley is great as he is shown through an overhead camera on a giant bed with about 8 lingerie-clad sluts and he says, "Dont let anyone tell you you can't live like this. I do. If you want it, you do it." Great line. This movie is hilarious. I wish I could find this movie!!