MOVIE REVIEW: Bohemian Rhapsody
(Love Of My Life - Queen)
I love Queen. Most of the folks that I know who really enjoy music also love Queen, for obvious reasons. Even people who don't like Queen appreciate their musical talent and their massive contributions to music and the how it is performed live. Indeed, only a musical heathen refuses to be completely upstanding when Her Majesties are being discussed.
And then someone decided to make something that smelled very closely like a Biopic for the band that focused on Freddie Mercury.
Honest to God, when I saw the trailer for the first time, it was in a movie theater, and I went absolutely apeshit. Then I watched it again, and went even more apeshit. I was SO EXCITED for the movie. Indeed, it was only after I started seeing the movie's lead, Rami Maleck doing interviews that I thought, "Wait...what if they screw this up?"
And that's been the question that's haunted me ever since.
Did they?
THE SHORT VERSION:
Nope. They will, they WILL rock you.
THE LONG VERSION:
This movie is a collection of things that are near-miraculous. It’s not so much that they managed to do one thing really well, it’s the fact that they managed to do so many nearly impossible things very, VERY well.
There’s nothing overly complex or surprising about the movie’s plot. It details the formation of the band, its rise to superstardom, and the much-discussed life of Queen’s front-man, Freddie Mercury. Seeing as how the band itself is the movie’s primary focus, it stands to reason that they would want to portray the band as realistically as possible. Said portrayal is where the vast majority of the movie’s jaw-dropping magic comes from.
Brian May, John Deacon, Roger Taylor, and Freddie Mercury were all so very well portrayed that you’ll repeatedly find yourself wondering where in the world the casting department found these people. They are, all of them, absolutely perfect for the role. They look like the band, they move like the band, they play like the band, and they sound like the band. Absolutely stunning.
Of course, you cannot talk about this movie without specifically discussing the performance of Rami Malek. There are moments when the visual similarities between him and Mercury are jaw-dropping. He doesn’t quite sound like Mercury when he speaks, but that’s not really what Freddie was famous for. Indeed, much of the movie rests its excellence on Malek’s voice, and in that respect, he delivers in spades.
Actually, saying that he delivers in spades really, REALLY underplays how incredible of a job he did. There are absolutely parts of this movie when I would swear that they overdubbed Mercury’s voice over Malek’s. There were other moments in the film that there was no way they could have, and yet he still sounds EXACTLY like Mercury. It would be eerie if it weren’t so impressive. And it’s very, VERY impressive.
On the subject of Mercury, there’s another thing that the movie does well where he’s concerned, and that’s the discussion surrounding his personal life. Especially in today’s ‘woke’ climate, the movie could have made a huge deal out of Mercury’s social agenda, but they chose not to. Indeed, Mercury’s homosexuality is really only pressed directly to the front foreground on two occasions. It’s there, it’s a part of who he was, but it isn’t allowed to dominate the film. That’s an incredible accomplishment, and the film is so much better for it.
There’s not much to say about this film other than it’s fantastic in nearly every single way. GO see it. Then go listen to the soundtrack. Oh, and have your tissues with you during the films last 30 minutes. Mercury goes out with a bang, and he’s absolutely taking you with him.
I love Queen. Most of the folks that I know who really enjoy music also love Queen, for obvious reasons. Even people who don't like Queen appreciate their musical talent and their massive contributions to music and the how it is performed live. Indeed, only a musical heathen refuses to be completely upstanding when Her Majesties are being discussed.
And then someone decided to make something that smelled very closely like a Biopic for the band that focused on Freddie Mercury.
Honest to God, when I saw the trailer for the first time, it was in a movie theater, and I went absolutely apeshit. Then I watched it again, and went even more apeshit. I was SO EXCITED for the movie. Indeed, it was only after I started seeing the movie's lead, Rami Maleck doing interviews that I thought, "Wait...what if they screw this up?"
And that's been the question that's haunted me ever since.
Did they?
THE SHORT VERSION:
Nope. They will, they WILL rock you.
THE LONG VERSION:
This movie is a collection of things that are near-miraculous. It’s not so much that they managed to do one thing really well, it’s the fact that they managed to do so many nearly impossible things very, VERY well.
There’s nothing overly complex or surprising about the movie’s plot. It details the formation of the band, its rise to superstardom, and the much-discussed life of Queen’s front-man, Freddie Mercury. Seeing as how the band itself is the movie’s primary focus, it stands to reason that they would want to portray the band as realistically as possible. Said portrayal is where the vast majority of the movie’s jaw-dropping magic comes from.
Brian May, John Deacon, Roger Taylor, and Freddie Mercury were all so very well portrayed that you’ll repeatedly find yourself wondering where in the world the casting department found these people. They are, all of them, absolutely perfect for the role. They look like the band, they move like the band, they play like the band, and they sound like the band. Absolutely stunning.
Of course, you cannot talk about this movie without specifically discussing the performance of Rami Malek. There are moments when the visual similarities between him and Mercury are jaw-dropping. He doesn’t quite sound like Mercury when he speaks, but that’s not really what Freddie was famous for. Indeed, much of the movie rests its excellence on Malek’s voice, and in that respect, he delivers in spades.
Actually, saying that he delivers in spades really, REALLY underplays how incredible of a job he did. There are absolutely parts of this movie when I would swear that they overdubbed Mercury’s voice over Malek’s. There were other moments in the film that there was no way they could have, and yet he still sounds EXACTLY like Mercury. It would be eerie if it weren’t so impressive. And it’s very, VERY impressive.
On the subject of Mercury, there’s another thing that the movie does well where he’s concerned, and that’s the discussion surrounding his personal life. Especially in today’s ‘woke’ climate, the movie could have made a huge deal out of Mercury’s social agenda, but they chose not to. Indeed, Mercury’s homosexuality is really only pressed directly to the front foreground on two occasions. It’s there, it’s a part of who he was, but it isn’t allowed to dominate the film. That’s an incredible accomplishment, and the film is so much better for it.
There’s not much to say about this film other than it’s fantastic in nearly every single way. GO see it. Then go listen to the soundtrack. Oh, and have your tissues with you during the films last 30 minutes. Mercury goes out with a bang, and he’s absolutely taking you with him.
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