Skip to main content
  • TotalFilm
  • Edge
  • Newsarama
  • Retrogamer
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+
US EditionUS CA EditionCanada UK EditionUK AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • More
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series X
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo Switch 2
    • PC
    • Platforms
    • Tabletop Gaming
    • Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsletters
    • About us
    • Features
Trending
  • Best Netflix Movies
  • Movie Release Dates
  • Best movies on Disney Plus
  • Best Netflix Shows
Don't miss these
Lucas Lee is surrounded by adoring fans in Scott Pilgrim EX
Action Games Scott Pilgrim EX review: "Fantastically crunchy pixel combat is let down by an obsession with repetitive backtracking"
Cillian Murphy as Tommy Shelby in Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man
Crime Movies Cillian Murphy says Netflix's Peaky Blinders movie is the "natural conclusion" for Tommy Shelby
Ryan Gosling as Ryland Grace in Project Hail Mary
Sci-Fi Movies Project Hail Mary review: "Large scale sci-fi with tons of heart"
Barry Keoghan as Duke Shelby walking in Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man
Crime Movies Netflix's new Peaky Blinders movie debuts to rave reviews and a near-perfect Rotten Tomatoes score
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Simon Williams in Wonder Man.
Superhero Shows Wonder Man review: "A low-key gem that's up there with the MCU's best"
Ghostface in Scream 7
Horror Movies Scream 7 review: "Never as sharp as the series' best, but still has a few neat tricks up its billowing sleeve"
Glen Powell as Becket in How to Make a Killing
Comedy Movies How to Make a Killing is Glen Powell's latest mid-budget movie, and I hope he never stops making them
Return to Silent Hill protagonist James Sunderland
Horror Movies Return to Silent Hill review: "Neither an impressive adaptation nor coherent enough to act as a standalone film"
Peter Claffey as Dunk in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
Fantasy Shows A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms review: "This Game of Thrones spin-off is a heartfelt and fun return to Westeros"
Jessie Buckley as Ida/Penny in The Bride
Horror Movies The Bride earns mixed first reviews, as critics call it everything from "a modern classic" to "unholy mess"
Ralph Fiennes as Dr. Kelson in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
Horror Movies 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple review: "The wildest and weirdest entry into the franchise yet"
Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven in Stranger Things season 5 volume 2
Sci-Fi Shows Stranger Things season 5 finale review: “Shows off both the best and the worst of Hawkins”
Cillian Murphy as Tommy Shelby riding a horse in Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man
Crime Shows Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man director explains how the Netflix movie differs from the show
Using Sheath, a gun with a fang-toothed face, in High on Life 2 to blast through Human Con, where aliens party in human mascot costumes
FPS Games High on Life 2 review: "I smiled, I laughed, I sorely wished the combat was a lot better"
Christian Bale as Frank in The Bride
Horror Movies Christian Bale on exploring the more "comedic" sides of Frankenstein's monster in new sci-fi horror The Bride
  1. Entertainment
  2. Movies
  3. Comedy Movies

Killing Bono review

Growing up in the shadow of an Irish rock legend...

Reviews
By Neil Smith published 23 March 2011

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Why you can trust GamesRadar+ Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.

Music writer Neil McCormick’s wry memoir about growing up in former schoolmate Bono’s shadow reaches the screen with some of its charm intact.

Sadly, it also comes with preposterous embellishments – a criminal subplot here, an assassination attempt there – and a lily-livered eagerness to depict Bono as the nicest singer ever to walk the earth.

Ben Barnes (aka Prince Caspian) brings gusto and a plausible Irish brogue to McCormick’s alter-ego, a hapless rock wannabe who embroils his brother (Robert Sheehan) in an ill-starred quest to rival U2.

Like the late Pete Postlethwaite’s cameo (his final screen credit), alas, the messy, patchy and overlong result elicits more rueful sadness than side-splitting hilarity.

Sign up for the Total Film Newsletter

Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Neil Smith
Neil Smith
Freelance Writer

Neil Smith is a freelance film critic and writer who contributes regularly to Heat, SFX and Screen International. He's a long-time member of the London Film Critics’ Circle and was a contributing editor at Total Film for many years.

Read more
Glen Powell as Beckett Redfellow in How to Make a Killing
Glen Powell's new crime thriller movie How to Make a Killing debuts to disappointing Rotten Tomatoes score
 
 
Glen Powell as Becket in How to Make a Killing
How to Make a Killing is Glen Powell's latest mid-budget movie, and I hope he never stops making them
 
 
Georgina Campbell as Jane in Psycho Killer
Barbarian star's new slasher horror called "abysmally dull" and "a nothing burger of a movie" in scathing first reviews
 
 
Ralph Fiennes as Dr. Kelson in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple review: "The wildest and weirdest entry into the franchise yet"
 
 
Joe Kerry as Travis 'Teacake' Meachum and Georgina Campbell as Naomi Williams in Cold Storage
Stranger Things star's new zombie horror Cold Storage is a love letter to gooey, goofy sci-fi from the early 2000s
 
 
Karl Urban as Captain Connor in The Bluff
The Boys star's new swashbuckling actioner compared to Pirates of the Caribbean in mixed-positive first reviews
 
 
Latest in Comedy Movies
Glen Powell as Becket in How to Make a Killing
How to Make a Killing is Glen Powell's latest mid-budget movie, and I hope he never stops making them
 
 
Community
Community movie got "very close" to filming, but one star's schedule caused a delay
 
 
Coyote Vs ACME
Coyote vs. Acme star felt "white hot anger" at the Looney Tunes live-action movie being shelved
 
 
Ghostface waggling a knife while on a subway car in the trailer for Scary Movie 6
Scary Movie 6 trailer takes a stab at modern horror – and none of your favorites are safe
 
 
Shorty (Marlon Wayans) streaming in Scary Movie 6
Scary Movie 6 may skewer Gen Z and play the hits, but it's not nostalgia bait
 
 
Ghostface in a parody of The Substance in Scary Movie 6
Scary Movie 6 "joke scientist" Marlon Wayans is taking a different approach to the horror spoof's humor
 
 
Latest in Reviews
Acer Predator Triton 14 AI gaming laptop on a wooden desk
The Acer Predator Triton 14 AI wants to run your game room and office, but it's not as sharp as the Blade
 
 
Asus ROG Azoth 96 HE gaming keyboard on a wooden desk
The Asus ROG Azoth 96 HE has returned to take the magnetic crown, but that price tag is going to be a problem
 
 
A Thrustmaster T248R and its pedals on a grey carpet
The Thrustmaster T248R is making me question where a sim racing wheel with no direct drive and no modular wheelbase fits in the market in 2026
 
 
Ryan Gosling as Ryland Grace in Project Hail Mary
Project Hail Mary review: "Large scale sci-fi with tons of heart"
 
 
Slay the Spire 2
Slay the Spire 2 early access review: "Instantly familiar, but already bursting with new ideas"
 
 
Iñaki Godoy as Monkey D. Luffy Emily Rudd as Nami and Jacob Romero as Usopp standing on the deck of the Merry in One Piece season 2
One Piece season 2 review: "It's hard to imagine a better version of One Piece in live action"
 
 
LATEST ARTICLES
  1. Nintendo Switch 2 running Pokemon Pokopia with a Pikachu Pop Vinyl on a wooden desk
    1
    I'm using the Amazon Spring Sale to fuel my Pokemon Pokopia addiction for fewer life coins
  2. 2
    Valve peels back the curtain in rare Steam presentation: "More games are finding success" than ever, and nearly 6,000 made over $100,000 last year
  3. 3
    Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man director explains how the Netflix movie differs from the show: "Inherently, it is more cinematic in its conception"
  4. 4
    The Dispatch leads had "a mix of arrogance and stupidity" as they faced down publishers telling them single-player narrative games were "niche, or worse, dead"
  5. 5
    Xbox lead thinks "we have been in a golden age for indies" since 2008, and it's "a fantastic time to be a developer" if you ignore all the smoke: "The present is awesome"

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google
  • Terms and conditions
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility statement
  • Careers
  • About us
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...