Shine a Light Reviews

Shine a Light is a concert film directed by Martin Scorsese, which centers around two Rolling Stones concerts from 2006. The concerts were held at at New York City's famed Beacon Theatre. The 22-song setlist includes classics like "Jumpin' Jack Flash", "Start Me Up" and "Brown Sugar", and guest performers include Buddy Guy, Jack White and Christina Aguilera.

The movie received an average rating of 86% on Rotten Tomatoes, and 76% on Metacritic.

• Rolling Stone (3.5/4): Shine a Light Review
  • " This you-are-there spellbinder is a master director shining his light on the best rock band on the planet."

• The New York Times: Shine a Light Review
  • "The visual rhythms and unobtrusive editing reflect the contradictory status of the Stones as a majestic rock institution and a gang of down-and-dirty bad boys thumbing their noses at propriety while scooping up all the girls."

• EW.com (B+): Shine a Light Review
  • "Shine a Light is a blistering parade of hot rocks, but it's never quite startling, like Stop Making Sense, or transcendent, like Scorsese's The Last Waltz. What it captures is a band that has figured out the best way to endure — by becoming eternal."

• Chicago Tribune (3.5/4): Shine a Light Review
  • "The images in Shine a Light are pretty beautiful, and the collaborators do especially well bringing out the visual music of the duets."

• The Austin Chronicle (4/5): Shine a Light Review
  • "Martin Scorsese's Shine a Light will prompt myriad reactions — shock, awe, glee — but dismissal will be in the minority."

• Newsweek: Fun With Mick & Keith
  • "Scorsese and his editor, David Tedeschi, spin this prize footage into a kick-ass two-hour celebration of rock-and-roll longevity."

• The New York Observer: It's Only a Rock 'n' Roll Documentary (But I Like It!)
  • "Shine a Light makes me feel as if I had never really seen the Stones before in their 45-year career, including their extensive screen exposure."

• E!Online (B-): Shine a Light Review
  • "You want to see something impressive? Watch these so-called geezers light up the stage for two hours. They don't even need CGI to pull it off."

• Village Voice: Shine a Light: Some Country for Old Men
• "One would hope that, after The Last Waltz and No Direction Home, Scorsese might venture beyond making a glossy episode of Ripley's Believe It or Not. Nope, and we're not supposed to question it: Like the Stones, Marty's earned the right to coast, especially in his senior years."

• The Arizona Republic (3/5): Shine a Light Review
  • "Although the film is expertly made...it offers almost nothing new for fans of the Stones, or of Scorsese."

• Cinematical: SXSW Review: Shine a Light
  • "if Scorsese's name were not on the film, I would have zero expectations and been pleasantly surprised to see that the Rolling Stones are still working hard in concert. But with Scorsese's name attached, I wanted more."