As Valens, Lou Diamond Phillips has a sweetness and sincerity that in no way diminish the toughness of his onstage persona. The role is blandly written, but Mr. Phillips gives Valens backbone.
Juicy Cerebellum
April 30, 2003
Fairly well put together film about the hispanic king of rock'n roll.
Cinema Crazed
January 02, 2017
A strong statement about the fleeting, fragility of life, and the bond between brothers.
This is a sincere, well-acted movie about the short life of a minor rock 'n' roll star, and by the time it's over we almost have the feeling Valens would have been surprised not to have died in a crash.
Perhaps otherwise destined to be remembered as a talented footnote in musical history, Richie Valens is immortalized for the masses in this well-conceived and involving movie.
This is a movie about music and it is the Valens sound, a unique blending of Latin rhythm and rock beat, that prevents La Bamba from being just another example of Hollywood hero worship.
