At times, this movie feels more like Eurovision than Eurovision itself. Which is scary... And, also, a lot of fun! The settings, the flashy clothes, the over the top performances, the corny songs, everything was eerily realistic. Someone definitely did their homework for this one.

Also, really good performances from Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams (and Dan Stevens, he was an absolute treat to watch, kinda channelling Ben Stiller in _Zoolander_)! This sort of movie fits Will Ferrell like a glove (so, no surprises, there) , but I was impressed with the chemistry that was flowing between those two throughout the whole movie. They really made Fire Saga a believable ESC band.

And a honourable mention to the mandatory Icelandic soundtrack, featuring a few of the most well-known songs from Sigur Rós (no Björk, though?). Those always help in cranking up the mood in any movie. [spoiler]Hearing some genuine ESC songs and also seeing some real winners from past ESC events was also a special treat for fans of the contest. Having Salvador Sobral performing on screen his winning song as some guy on his piano in a street somewhere was quite sweet.[/spoiler]


Being myself a frequent ESC viewer (not exactly a fan, _per se_) for almost 40 years, I sure had a blast watching this one and I wholeheartedly recommend it to fans of the song contest. You will definitely enjoy this one a lot more if you're familiar with the ESC.

Longest comedy ever, and it is only two hours long. This is coming from the same guy who watched 'The Irishman'.

'Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga' was fine at best, but I did not find it that funny. The only time I chuckled was during the more random sections of the movie.

For whatever reason, the movie felt kind of stale, in terms of its look and atmosphere.

I am not sure if the movie is a parody of Eurovision or a tribute? You could say both, but I am not sure if I buy into that. If I must be honest, I have never heard of Eurovision before, so unfortunately this movie is my first introduction to the contest show. I think this is the reason why a lot of the jokes fall flat for me. Although, the humour and writing aren’t strong enough to stand on its own.

Halfway through the movie, it also turns into a music video with short appearances from past contestants who were on Eurovision. While watching that scene, I had no clue what was going on.

Will Ferrell plays an idiotic man child with a loudmouth that would often get degraded by his father. Basically, the same character he has been playing for most of his career, because I guess he doesn't have range. Ferrell’s Icelandic accent was extremely awful and at times I could hear him slip back into his native accent.

Rachel McAdams was the best part of the movie by far. McAdams has proven she can take on any genre, especially comedy. During the more dramatic aspects of the movie, she almost encourages Will Ferrell to "step up his game", in terms of being dramatic for a scene using only her acting. Her Icelandic accent was better than Ferrell's. Not great, just a little better.

Also, this is the third time there has been a connection between Pierce Brosnan and ABBA. I think it might be a sign.

Overall rating: Yep, it is a Netflix movie.

**THE WACPINE OF ‘STORY OF FIRE SAGA’**

WRITING: 3
ATMOSPHERE: 4
CHARACTERS: 6
PRODUCTION: 6
INTRIGUE: 4
NOVELTY: 7
ENJOYMENT: 4

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**The Good:**

A spot-on spoof of the silliness that is Eurovision, the dream of winning and the cheesy songwriting and flashy stage shows.
The best jokes are those that openly embrace the overblown elements of the ESC.
A beautiful ending with a beautiful final song.
Rachel McAdams is the only actor worth a mention, even though this isn’t her best performance.
Dan Stevens is fine and portrays the character with the biggest depth.
The relationship between Lars and Sigrit is sweet and feels realistic; it is the best this film has to offer.
Lovely cinematography and location footage from Iceland; an emphasis on original songs that sound like real Eurovision entries.

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**The Bad:**

The story is complete trash, paper-thin and unoriginal with flat and sometimes borderline offensive jokes.
The forced love triangle subplot doesn't give the script more value.
The nonsensical plot turns weirder and weirder as it progresses, involving magic (a zombie-ghost Demi Lovato!), weird Eurovision rule changes and other implausible events.
Terrible, over-the-top and childish acting on most accounts, from Will Ferrell and Pierce Brosnan in particular.
Mikael Persbrandt turns progressively worse until his horrendous final scene.
The middle part of the film is a drag, as it turns the plot into a bizarre, overlong music video featuring cameo appearances from past Eurovision artists as well as terrible Eurovision covers.

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**The Ugly:**

The fact that somebody felt that we needed a movie about the Eurovision.

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**WACPINE RATING: 4.86 / 10 = 2.5 stars**

Awful.

I love Eurovision itself, I've watched it every year for as long as I can remember. Therefore, I really did want to like this - for the aforementioned, but because I also like Will Ferrell. Unfortunately, I found 'Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga' an utter slog to sit through.

It, at least in my opinion, fails in a lot of ways. It fails as a musical, as a comedy, as a potential romcom... nothing about it works. I do like how they incorporated Graham Norton into things, but otherwise nothing else sticks out.

The comedy is severely lacking, with Ferrell (Lars) giving a forgettable - at best - performance. I will say that I didn't mind Rachel McAdams (Sigrit) in this, she's alright. Dan Stevens' Alexander is boring, while Pierce Brosnan's Erick is practically pointless. There are a number of cameos from real life Eurovision stars, not that they add anything - there's one music mash-up scene with them that's cringe to watch.

It takes itself way, way too seriously. There are some moments where I was expecting a punchline, before realising it's genuinely trying to be sombre. It needed to take the vibe of actual Eurovision: silly and fun.

A disappointment, to me anyway. There's also a lot of errors with how Eurovision works, but that's just my pedantic side kicking in so I'll allow it.