Whiplash Review

This is a truly amazing movie. Whiplash stars Miles Teller who plays a student jazz drummer. His dream is to become one of the all time greats, but first he has to face an abusive teacher played by J.K. Simmons. Most people think Whiplash is a movie that mostly revolves around music. I found it to actually be more of a psychological battle between Miles Tellers' character and J.K. Simmons' character. J.K. Simmons begins to really push Miles Tellers' character to the edge until he can't take it anymore, and so begins a battle of wits to see who will ultimately outwit who. 

First of all I have to say that Miles Teller was fantastic in this movie, specially since he can actually play the drums which really makes him perfect for the role. J.K. Simmons though is the absolute stand out of this movie. Imagine his character from the Spider-Man movies, completely bald and with the ability to curse now. That is basically his character in this movie and he is absolutely fantastic. You really do feel afraid of this guy at times, plus the insults that come out of his mouth are brilliant too. 

One of the great things about this movie is how it shows Miles Tellers' character having to struggle with various relationships.  His family doesn't understand why drumming is important to him. They would rather have him do something else like sports or having a regular job. Anybody who has a passion for any art form knows that explaining your love for your art to other family members is really hard, and most of the time they won't understand. It also shows how you can lose a ton of things just for the sake of being the absolute best in your craft. 

But the best thing by far is the way J.K. Simmons and Miles Teller clash in this movie. The conflicts are very serious since you have two characters that feel really strong about their opinions, and when they start going at each other you really see some very intense scenes and acting. The editing is brilliant too. It really makes the whole film very fast paced and exhilarating, specially when Miles Teller is playing the drums. It switches from Miles Teller to his double (for the harder parts) seamlessly. You really won't notice when it's him or when it's not him. 

This is a movie that absolutely must be seen in a movie theater since the sound is really freaking amazing. It definitely is not the same as watching it on a computer or a regular t.v. The ending of the film was absolute perfection in my opinion. If you love music, watch this movie. If you have a passion for art, watch this movie. If you love amazing acting, watch this movie. Whiplash really is an amazing movie. 5/5