Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)
As a relatively new fan of Queen and their music, I had high hopes for a Queen biopic given the fascinating life story of Freddie Mercury, the band's legendary frontman. I had been looking forward to Sacha Baron Cohen's interpretation of Mercury; however, I was disappointed when he dropped out of the project due to creative differences with the band. Regardless, I was satisfied with the casting of Rami Malek and his subsequent performance, which captures Mercury's publicly charismatic and flamboyant persona incredibly well, in addition to bringing a more quiet and emotionally vulnerable side to his performance. The musical numbers are riveting in their sense of scale and attention to visual historical details (especially during the finale's beat-for-beat Live Aid recreation). However, what keeps Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) from reaching superstar levels of excellence is the movie's highly formulaic biopic direction and the numerous creative liberties taken with historical events in Mercury's personal life.
On a side note, the film's original director, Bryan Singer, was fired towards the end of production and replaced by Eddie the Eagle (2015) director Dexter Fletcher, who would later direct another musical biopic, Rocketman (2019), but more on that later.
What undermines this movie is not only its PG-13 approach to the film's subject matter but the historical inaccuracies in the film's timeline of key events in Queen and Mercury's history, like Mercury's AIDS diagnosis (in the movie, he is diagnosed with AIDS just before Live Aid in 1985, whereas in reality, his diagnosis was in 1987, two years after Live Aid). It is evident from the movie's overall direction that the remaining band members (Brian May and Roger Taylor) had a little too much creative control over their portrayal in the film. This factor could explain the final cut's glossed-over approach to the individual band members' backstories, the on-screen depiction of Mercury's drug use, and the further details of him exploring his sexuality. There is only one F-bomb in this film, which was highly unlikely to have happened during Freddie's wild and raucous lifestyle. According to the 2009 memoir Freddie Mercury: His Life in His Own Words, Mercury was once quoted as saying the following about a movie based upon his life story:
"Also, I have visions of actually having a film made of my life story, one day, which I would have a key part in. I might not play the lead myself. My dears, the things I've done in my lifetime...it'll be totally triple X-rated, I'll tell you!"
Reading that quote makes me wish that the band had respected Mercury's wishes and delivered something closer to an R rating. However, given the commercial success of the music and its generation-spanning popularity, I understand why 20th Century Fox would have wanted the movie to be made more accessible to both the general movie-going masses and die-hard Queen fans. However, speaking as a Queen fan, as much as I enjoyed hearing iconic tunes like "Radio Ga Ga", "We Are The Champions", and "We Will Rock You" throughout the movie, one thing that would have made the ending extra sad in tone was if Mercury's last recorded song, "Mother Love" played during the ending credits. Yet the choice to play "The Show Must Go On" is a welcome one, as it showcases his will to battle AIDS until the end.
While not the definitive look behind the curtain on Freddie Mercury that I was initially hoping for, Bohemian Rhapsody is well-acted, visually and audibly appealing, and the ending is enjoyable enough for me to sit back enjoy Queen's greatest hits. Also, while I understand that film and sound editing is painstaking work, plenty of other worthy nominees deserved those titles at the 2019 Oscars.
Final Score: 7 out of 10
Rocketman (2019)
Sorry, Bohemian Rhapsody (2018). You may be the champions, but Rocketman (2019) is still standing. Rocketman is a stylish and fast-paced yet thematically raw look at the life and career of Sir Elton John through the lens of a movie musical. While not a perfect film, it will undoubtedly find a following with fans of Elton.
Taron Egerton's turn as Elton is Oscar-worthy, and I still cannot understand how Egerton was snubbed for a Best Actor nomination at the 2020 Oscars. Regardless, I cannot wait to see what projects and performances he will deliver post-Kingsman. The rest of the cast's performances are extraordinary, from Jamie Bell as Bernie Taupin to Bryce Dallas Howard as Elton's mother, Sheila. Director Dexter Fletcher has a sure-handed grip on his understanding of the source material, which is on full display in this movie. From the production design, the bold color palette, and the elaborate costume design to the film's beating heart, Lee Hall's screenplay. Hall's script is peppered with the foul language, drug use, sex scenes, and emotional turmoil that was skimmed over in Bohemian Rhapsody. I found this film's rehab framing device at the beginning and end to be a clever way to drive the story forward and justify the film's numerous musical numbers. My favorite numbers feature the title song, "Rocketman" and "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", the latter of which is especially emotionally resonant.
As mentioned earlier, this movie is a full-on musical with fast pacing. To be specific, Rocketman, at times, has the hyperactive pacing and editing of Moulin Rouge! (2001), which may understandably turn off some people. However, I understood its intention; to place the audience in Elton's sparkly shoes as he seemingly goes through years of alcoholism, drug abuse, and sexual affairs within minutes. The level of psychedelic colors and vibrantly energetic choreography reminded me of another jukebox musical, 2007's Across the Universe.
A part of me wishes that this film would have slowed down so I could fully digest the movie's emotional beats. Still, then again, Moulin Rouge! had similar complaints from critics and audience members, so I find this aspect forgivable. Rocketman is a must for musical buffs.
Final Score: 8 out of 10
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