'Rocketman' Review

Nominated For: Best Original Song "(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again" (written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin).

Won: Best Original Song "(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again" (written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin).

Synopsis: A musical fantasy about the fantastical human story of Sir Elton John's breakthrough years.

Runtime: 121 minutes

MPAA Rating: R (for language throughout, some drug use and sexual content,)

Who should see it? Teenagers and adults who are interested in the story and music of Elton John.

Directed by Dexter Fletcher with a screenplay written by Lee Hall, Rocketman is a musical biographical picture which details the highs and lows of Elton John's upbringing and rockstar career. Last year, Fletcher swooped in to complete production on Bohemian Rhapsody after director Bryan Singer was removed from the project, and the Queen biopic was championed by general audiences and the industry alike as it somehow managed to secure four Oscars, a Best Picture nomination, and a healthy box office haul against all odds. Those of you who read my BoRhap review and 2019 Oscar coverage are aware that I wasn't particularly fond of said film, so it's easy to see why I'd be concerned that Rocketman would be made in a similar generic musical biopic mold... Well, I'm DELIGHTED to say that's not the case! 

Rocketman doesn't completely break the mold, but Fletcher's method of retelling Elton John's life story as a non-chronological, fantastical jukebox musical is a refreshing creative choice. Many of John's greatest hits are included to relay major life events rather than serve purely as the basis for staged concert recreations. Though the narrative's thoroughly grounded in the tragic elements of Elton John's various additions, the dreamlike musical numbers carry an over the top bravado befitting of the exuberant musician. Fletcher alternates between dramatic reality and psychedelic song and dance numbers with relative ease and assuredness, so the switches flow naturally within the narrative.

Screenwriter Lee Hall frames the events as unreliable recollections from John during an Alcoholic Anonymous meeting in rehab. Though Elton admits to being an alcoholic, drug and sex addict, shopaholic, narcissistic, and a tad temperamental, he withholds key details about his life from the support group and presents a glitzy version of his experiences which are soon revealed to be a facade for the audience. As Elton reminisces on the life and upbringing of Reginald Dwight (his birth name), the story shown doesn't always align with his spoken iteration, but the production doesn't skimp on sharing the darker details of the pop star's life. The truth of it all may up for debate (especially considering the fantastical nature of the musical numbers), but I believe Fletcher and Hall crafted an honest, harrowing portrait of the ups and downs of Elton John's breakthrough years. Fortunately, Elton John served as an executive producer on the project, so he endorsed the film's depiction of said events through his substantial involvement.

Nevertheless, the script still falls into the rut of exploring tired genre clichés and breezing by some pivotal moments in the musician's memoir. Though the technical execution compensates for these shortcomings, as colorful costuming, vibrant production design, inspired choreography, and a committed cast helps Rocketman maintain its upbeat vitality. 

Front and center, Taron Egerton encapsulates the Elton John persona to a tee, voice and all. Egerton easily could have sunk into an exaggerated caricature of Elton, but the rising actor wholeheartedly throws himself into the role. Egerton replicates John's disposition and mannerisms but also imbues the necessary nuance to avoid an impressionistic portrayal. Taron Egerton ironically sang an Elton tune as a talking gorilla in the animated jukebox musical Sing ("I'm Still Standing" is reprised here) and recently starred alongside Elton John in Kingsman: The Golden Circle, so it'd seem he was fated to take on this part. Thankfully, he's got the pipes for it, and he echoes Elton's vocals to great effect!

Jamie Bell, Richard Madden, and Bryce Dallas Howard depict prominent individuals in Elton's life as his respective lyricist and best friend Bernie Taupin, manager and former flame John Reid, and wishy-washy mother, Sheila. Bell's a kindred spirit while Madden accentuates Reid's manipulative, cruel qualities, with Howard fluctuating in-between.

All in all, Rocketman blasts off as an extravagant musical bonanza which honors the respected rockstar's rich legacy and is also unafraid to explore the darker side of Elton John's history. Fletcher's unique approach to the material and a distinguished lead performance from Taron Egerton ensures Rocketman will bring the house down.

Film Assessment: B+

'Bohemian Rhapsody' Review

Nominated For: Best Picture, Best Actor; Rami Malek, Best Film Editing, Best Sound Editing, and Best Sound Mixing. 

Won: Best Actor; Rami Malek, Best Film Editing, Best Sound Editing, and Best Sound Mixing. 

Bohemian Rhapsody rocks out as a foot-stomping celebration of Queen, their music and their extraordinary lead singer Freddie Mercury. The film traces the meteoric rise of the band through their iconic songs and revolutionary sound. 

I already know a vast majority of my readership will disagree with everything I'm about to say whether they've seen Bohemian Rhapsody or not because people love Queen that much, which is fine, but do know I'm separating my love and appreciation for Queen and their music from the film itself. I'm not critiquing this film based on the quality of music written, sung, and recorded 30-40 years ago (though there are a couple songs on the soundtrack which were recently remastered in 2011). I'm assessing the film independently of the music because everyone already knows Queen's music is excellent and the film doesn't exactly contain an inspired soundtrack since it's just a collection of Queen's greatest hits in a Queen/Freddie Mercury biopic. What other music would the filmmakers use?...

Though Bohemian Rhapsody is credited to director Bryan Singer, Dexter Fletcher swooped in to finish Singer's work when Singer was removed from the project late last year due to being absent throughout much of the film's production. However, the finished project did not seem to be the singular vision of either filmmaker or even an amalgamation of the two for that matter. What I watched was clearly a studio-assembled product meant to satisfy the surviving members of Queen to secure permission to use their legendary music. It's a surface-level examination of Freddie Mercury's life and Queen's music that loosely strings together prominent moments in the band's history and glosses over Mercury's troubled past (though it does fleetingly address his sexuality and issues with addiction). To put it bluntly, Mercury's Wikipedia page is honestly a more insightful window into the singer's life.

My biggest issue with the biopic is that it's severely lacking in depth, so I didn't feel like I learned anything new or interesting about Freddie Mercury or Queen after subjecting myself to a two hour and fourteen-minute long film which was supposed to be all about him and Queen. Bohemian Rhapsody is essentially a series of concert montages with doses of personal drama and minimal conflict or plot at its core. There are some inspired shots here and there, which can be glimpsed in the trailer, but those are ravaged by an overabundance of quick-cuts that I found to be somewhat distracting. It was almost as if 20th Century Fox mandated editor John Ottman insert a cut every ten-fifteen seconds in specific sequences. Much of this occurs strangely in simple scenes of dialogue between characters, so I have no idea exactly what transpired behind the scenes, but the troubles of this production were reflected onscreen.

What really irks me though is that people had the audacity to claim and complain that First Man "rewrote history" without watching the film and then boycotted the film for it to debut to a lackluster box office, but guess what?... Bohemian Rhapsody quite LITERALLY rewrites history in several instances (most prominently, by timing Freddie Mercury's AIDs diagnosis before the Live Aid concert to serve as an impromptu catalyst when he actually wasn't diagnosed till two years later), yet general audiences are eating it up because it's about Queen. 

Now for some positives before my readers riot against me... I thought the casting director, costuming, hair, and makeup teams each did excellent work. All the actors were the spitting image of the respective people they were tasked with portraying thanks to their handiwork and choice selection. Rami Malek was absolutely superb as Freddie Mercury, exhibiting Mercury's mannerisms, sure-fire attitude, and spirited persona with the utmost confidence and flamboyance. My only nitpick is that I wish he'd actually sung the music because I find lip-syncing to be a cheap cop-out for the studio. I get that replicating Mercury's voice is a daunting task, but as a singer, I find lip-syncing to be incredibly lazy. Moving your mouth and pretending to sing is not nearly as exhaustive as actually performing.  

As for the other actors, I wish they'd had more material to work with since their roles weren't very substantial in the grand scheme of things. The other band members seemed to be side-lined and just around to perform or have quick disagreements and subsequent resolutions with Mercury. I understand it's Freddie's story first and foremost, but a little more screen-time and focus on the rest of Queen would have been beneficial. 

Before I conclude though, I'd like to share a funny anecdote and an interesting observation from my viewing experience. One, I'm usually a stickler about parents bringing babies in a theater, but there was a baby there who cried out "Mama" in response to the "Mama Ooooooh" portion of "Bohemian Rhapsody." I found that incredibly amusing and it was honestly the highlight of my viewing experience (The baby was taken out soon afterward). Two, the font used throughout the film for crediting artists and signifying the date is the same font I use for my logo. Now I'm going to cram as many Queen lyrics as possible in my conclusion, but to ensure my opinion isn't lost in translation, I found Bohemian Rhapsody to be reasonably watchable but quite uninspired on the whole. If you disagree, that's fine. Keep on enjoying it and don't let me dictate what you should/shouldn't like or get wrapped up in the semantics of differing opinions.

Sorry, but Bohemian Rhapsody is not the champion, my friend. I'm not sure if this is the real life or if it's just fantasy, but Bohemian Rhapsody ain't a killer queen either. It's yet another mediocre musical biopic which bites the dust. It's got mud on its face, it's a big disgrace, and it's kicking its can all over the place. But don't let me stop you now, if you're having a good time and you don't wanna stop at all. If you're having a good time, keep having a good time. Just open your eyes, look up to the skies and see I'm just a person, I need no sympathy. My grades are easy come, easy go, little high, little low. Any way my score goes, shouldn't really matter to you... To you!

Film Assessment: C

'Eddie the Eagle' Review

Eddie the Eagle tells the story of real life British Winter Olympian, Eddie Edwards, and his drive to participate in the Olympics and prove himself to not only Great Britain but the world. In preparing myself for the film, I did a little research and watched some interviews about the film with the real Eddie Edwards only to learn that there are entire characters created purely for the film along with some of the more tensioned relationships throughout the film, to add more drama to the film of course. I don't really take much issue with this but felt I should inform my readers of some of the inaccuracies in transferring this story to the big screen. Now, at it's surface, Eddie the Eagle may appear to be a typical inspiring sports biopic but it's so much more than that. I typically find these inspiring sports films to be cheesy and a tad lame, while remaining very quality films, but this is certainly not the case with Eddie the Eagle because the film has so much heart. The film's story strays from feeling derivative of other inspirational sports movies since the film's climax doesn't follow the stereotypical trope ending but does a remarkable job putting the audience in Eddie's shoes to show his perspective of his results. (I won't spoil whether he succeeds or not, especially since success can be stretched to a wide array of interpretation). The story's underlying themes and messages also make it quite unique incorporating a stance on bullying, trying your best, and proving yourself. Dexter Fletcher directs and knows just how to bring forward Eddie's feelings through a variety of elements including camera angles, cinematography, and music that manage to bring about suspense and joy. The camerawork is utilized best when Eddie is about to jump but skeptical about the outcome that's expressed perfectly through a first person point of view showing the slops through his eyes. One surprising element that certainly enhanced my experience was the film's score and use of music throughout. The score contains an 80's synth and pop to it that mixes with an inspirational melody to bring about some emotional moments. Music is that key element that helps make the emotional moments work and that's always been the case but it's utilized particularly well in Eddie the Eagle managing to move me to have a sly grin or tears of both joy or sadness. Speaking of which, the film is surprisingly filled with quite a bit of comic relief that I wan't expecting but certainly welcomed with arms wide open. The film's core cast, consisting of Taron Egerton and Hugh Jackman,  
are terrific. Taron Egerton, one of the standouts from last year's Kingsman: The Secret Service, brings his A-game with a remarkably touching transformative performance as Eddie Edwards. Egerton doesn't turn Eddie's mannerisms into a caricature, but rather brings a lovable, innocent, dorky underdog everyone can root for onscreen. Hugh Jackman plays a fictional character created for the film as a former American Olympian, Bronson Peary, who was disgraced from ski-jumping and now a washed up drunk. Peary becomes Eddie's guide, mentor and coach but in reality Eddie didn't have a coach learning from many ski-jumpers as he practiced. Peary is created to make the film more compelling and give Eddie someone to converse with and even butt heads with at times. Jackman is perfect for this role and brings out a bit of his Wolverine persona at times. I was also very surprised to see Christopher Walken in a minor role critical to the narrative and he's pretty great as Peary's former coach. Aside from these three there aren't many other performances that are notable with the remaining characters relegated to smaller roles. The film's wonderful elements amount to a delightful, lighthearted, inspiring sports biopic that I'm sure audiences will love and Eddie the Eagle soars!

Film Assessment: A+