meren The Music in this film is better then the 1st if you are able to find the Soundtrack I would get it. Very inspirational. For some reason with the 1st Movie there are multiple versions of the soundtrack one with Tender years and one without. I purchased this film on DVD and it is a double feature which also includes the 1st movie. Even though you know John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown band performed the music its uncanny how well Michael Pare made you believe he was the one singing. I listen to the soundtrack to the film quite a bit while cooking. Runnin thru the Fire Open Road Just a Matter of time three tremendous songs. Michael Pare made the character Eddie Wilson/ Joe West an Icon in my book.

BobbyT24 Okay, I'll admit it. I'm an Eddie and the Cruisers fan. I loved the first movie, although I thought the story was a little dry. But the ending always made me want to know what happened to Eddie Wilson in the early-'60s since we all knew he didn't necessarily end his life at the end of that bridge.Enter "Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives!" taking place roughly 25 years after the original time frame. Again, I'll admit... this is a guilty pleasure of mine. This may not be "Gone With The Wind", but it makes me smile each and every time I put on this corny movie. The supporting acting is so-so. The story is fairly by-the-numbers. As a sequel, it ties up most of the loose ends from the original. The lead actor and his love interest let's say aren't necessarily of the Academy Award caliber although they try. But the plot isn't necessarily why we watch this movie and the director knew this. The music and what ultimately happened to Eddie is all this story aspires to. And the music is in one word... W-O-W!!! It's sad to note John Cafferty - the REAL voice of Eddie Wilson - has since passed away. I once watched him open for "Journey" decades ago. His perfectly soulful singing voice was unique and hits my heart just right. Having Michael Pare lip-syncing to those amazing tunes always puts a smile on my face, no matter the day.Now if you're expecting some blockbuster movie, this isn't the one for you. This is a movie by what looks to be a group of people who simply wanted to give a proper send-off to a movie mystery that the audience wanted to see. It isn't grand. It isn't intellectual. It may not even be all that good. But it's fitting - and the music is special.I'm thankful to watch this every few years. Some of the music is on my iPod and I listen to it often. As a movie, this is at most a 5 simply because it ties up the loose ends of the original and watching a movie hero create a band is creative and enjoyable. But the music... a solid 10 as far as I'm concerned. :-) RIP John Cafferty. You are missed.

bluesman-20 Eddie and the Cruisers 2 Eddie Lives was a pleasant surprise. To me the film was about love. Eddie loves music but was hurt he became scared so that one night in 1963 Eddie's car blew a tire and went over a guardrail and Eddie escaped he saw this as his chance to escape to get out of a life that had spun out of control. He split and just left everyone and everything behind and in the process hurt a lot of people. But Eddie also created a legend. Now Eddie and the Cruisers are enjoying a revival and Eddie is tortured he's living as a construction worker named Joe West and when he sees a band with the same drive he once had struggling he steps in to help and in the process creates a whole new band.He begins to create music again and this time is the added fear that he'll be found out. The movie is good from start to finish and the soundtrack is superb. This one got a bad reception when it should never have and is good enough to stand beside that first movie. This movie is pure entertainment dynamite from start to finish.

penniweninger I am not a sequel watcher as a rule. There have been so few of them that haven't disappointed me. But here I am on a cold and rainy Monday night with not much else on, and having just re-enjoyed Eddie and the Cruisers a few weeks back, I finally took a stab at it. In the first twenty minutes I thought the script was weak and Michael Pare was overacting. But as the film moved on, the story deepened, giving the actors more to work with. I loved that the film was made in Canada with many new actors, maintaining the freshness and originality from the first film. And the music is fabulous. The extra bonus for this New Jersey transplanted Jersey Girl were more great Jersey Shore scenes. Some have said the music and maybe even the story are inspired by Springsteen, and that could be, but he didn't have a movie to wrap around him, and John Cafferty's music is soul-satisfying. Long live Eddie.