The film's a lot like a good rock song: not overly deep, but a lot of fun and you can dance to it.
Comment
11/22/09
Rate this Movie 
Pirate Radio (2009)
59
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work
Reviews Counted:95
Fresh:56
Rotten:39
Average Rating:5.5/10
Consensus: It lacks genuine rock & roll raunch, but Richard Curtis' ode to the offshore radio stations of 1960s Britain has enough laughs and great tunes to stay smoothly afloat.
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis: Pirate Radio is the high-spirited story of how 8 DJs love affair with Rock n Roll changed the world forever. In the 1960s this group of rouge DJs, on a boat in the middle of the Northern Atlantic,... [More]
Starring: Philip S. Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Rhys Ifans, Nick Frost
Director: , Richard Curtis
Reviews for Pirate Radio
Pirate Radio misses cues but doesn't run completely aground.
11/20/09
... [it] will have you humming along and leave you with a big smile, something that can be said of few movies this year.
11/19/09
Pirate Radio leaves out any mention of the usual historical and cultural background, say, sex as a potential means of mixing races and classes.
11/19/09
Grudgingly irresistible
11/19/09
I fell in love with it and have yet to fall out of love with it. I don't expect I shall. This is a movie I suspect I will only come to treasure more with the passage of time.
11/18/09
A movie filled with characters has wonderful potential. It's just that 'Pirate Radio' has no character development.
11/17/09
The nostalgia Sixties rock music is lovely, however ... .
11/17/09
to the beat of soundtrack that proves the point of why this music was feared and adored, it revels in the giddy delight of a time when all the old rules were questioned, if not thrown out
11/16/09
It just sits there in the water.
11/16/09
Any serious music fan -- that is anyone who sees the radio pirates as kindred spirits -- will be outraged by its sloppy approach to the history of rock and roll.
11/16/09
Vastly entertaining and a fascinating part of music history.
11/16/09
The Kinks, Turtles and Martha and the Vandellas would have you dancing in the aisle, but then you might miss this most unusual show.
11/16/09
This Rock 'n' Roll love letter comes across as an overlong, jumbled mess of a film that has trouble finding both its voice and its focus.
11/16/09
Winning, witty, and wearing out its welcome toward the end, Pirate Radio is either a noble failure or the slightest of successes.
11/15/09
The music rocks, this movie doesn't. Never rises above the sitcom level complete with stock characters you might have seen on shows like WKRP. Too bad, because the classic pop tunes used in the film are among my very favorites. Paul Chambers, CNN.
11/15/09
I liked this version so much, I really want to see the longer The Boat That Rocked version. I guess on DVD.
11/14/09
A raucous and robust comedy about a rebellious band of deejays whose love for rock-n-roll spurs them to defy the British government in the late 1960s.
11/14/09
Though the sum isn't quite as good as the parts, the film does succeed due to its phenomenal cast, which consists of some of the best British actors working today. Philip Seymour Hoffman gives one of his most entertaining performances.
11/14/09
A bloody perfect comedy, a rollicking rock 'n' roll farce brimming with raunchy humor and characters who will charm your socks off.
11/13/09
Latest News for Pirate Radio
November 12, 2009:
Critics Consensus: 2012 Isn't Quite Earth-Shaking
This week at the movies, we've got a global catastrophe (2012, starring John Cusack and Chiwetel Ejiofor) and some rock 'n' roll rebellion (Pirate Radio, starring Philip S.... More...
October 26, 2009:
Total Recall: Our Favorite Rock 'n' Roll Movies
Rock music has been a big part of the movies since Blackboard Jungle made Bill Haley a legend in 1955, and although the marriage of the two mediums hasn't always been a happy... More...
More Movies
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 92% | Seraphine | 29/11 |
| 83% | Paranormal Activity | 25/11 |
| 23% | Law Abiding Citizen | 29/11 |
| — | Bunny and the Bull | 29/11 |
| — | Mr Right | 29/11 |
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Fresh Links
Featured
RT on YouTube 
Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.
RT on Twitter
Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.
IGN RSS Feeds