Frank Hatherley in Sydney

For vitality, volume and pace the team behind high-octane rock 'n' roll road movie Thunderstruck can't be faulted. The debut feature from first-timers Darren Ashton (director), Jodi Matterson (producer) and Shaun Angus Hall (writer), it follows the members of a failed rock group, first at the height of their teen optimism, then 12 years later as they come to terms with their broken dreams and unsatisfying lives.

The film's target audience of teen and early twentysomethings are likely to respond with enthusiasm when Icon opens it at home on 153 screens on May 20. International prospects and ancillary also look healthy, especially in countries, like the UK, where rock music and fandom are currently undergoing a resurgence. A vibrant soundtrack, released by Sony, can also only help.

The film opens with a thunderous 1991 concert by Aussie supergroup rockers AC/DC (the film's title refers to one of their songs). Crushed in the front row are the five members of unknown Sydney band Jack. High on the music of their heroes, and convinced they've just missed involvement in a fatal taxi accident, they make an oath before a faded alleyway poster of Bon Scott, the original AC/DC lead singer, who died of alcohol poisoning in 1980.

Whichever of them dies first, the boys swear, the others will bury him in Fremantle Cemetery next to Bon. The fact that Fremantle is over 4,000km from Sydney doesn't trouble their youthful earnestness.

Moving forward 12 years, Ashton successfully reintroduces the five, now ex-rockers, as they drift along in tedious jobs and unfulfilling marriages. When lightning permanently reduces them to a quartet, the shocked survivors are reunited and, after the forced kidnap of initially unwilling members, begin a larky trans-Australia road trip with a container of ashes.

From here the film swaps its thoughtful comedy/drama for horseplay and a succession of increasingly wacky encounters with - among others - crazy wayside chaplains, disabled footballers, kilted sheriffs, massed line dancers, randy bridesmaids and oddball AC/DC fanatics. Some mainstream audiences may be troubled by the undercurrent of gross-out comedy (the final shot is a close-up of a rock fan's penis).

Spot jokes and surreal sketches (some quite amusing) replace narrative and character development, as if the film-makers have lost confidence in holding their target audience without a large injection of goofy fun. This change of gear also eventually undermines a narrative that has something interesting to say about facing up to being an adult and confronting death.

Fortunately, Ashton finds his way again with an impressive climactic cemetery sequence where a large crowd gathers to hear the reformed Jacks celebrate their lost heroes with an impromptu gig from the back of a truck.

Soundtrack, trans-continent photography and editing are of a high standard. And it’s much to Ashton credit that his leads (Gameau, Curry, Johnson, Mulvey, Worthington) convince at both ages and blend so well together as musicians and long-standing mates. There's not a weak link among them. Trans-continent photography and editing are of a high standard.

Prod cos: Wild Eddie Films
Aust/NZ dist: Icon Film Dist
Int'l sales: BV International Pictures
Exec prod: Al Clark, Andrena Finlay
Prod: Jodi Matterson
Scr: Shaun Angus Hall, Ashton
Cine: Geoffrey Hall
Prod des: Karen Harborow
Ed: Martin Connor
Music: David Thrussell, Francois Tetaz
Main cast: Damon Gameau, Stephen Curry, Ryan Johnson, Callan Mulvey, Sam Worthington