Bohemian Rhapsody - Film Review

Queen.

The rock band that appealed to everyone, that belonged to everyone. The band that revolutionised Pop music, notably making a 6 minute song a hit single that got to number 1 in the charts, twice over.

Freddie Mercury.

The legendary front man of the band. He had charisma, an incredible vocal range, unforgettable stage outfits, an irrepressible personality, scandalous headlines in tabloids and a tragic death, far too early.

Bohemian Rhapsody tells their incredible story, and whilst it's certainly not the best biopic ever to grace our screens, it does have a lot of very good points and is incredibly entertaining, which I think is the most important thing to come out of a film about entertainers.

First and foremost, I have to discuss Rami Malek, of Night at the Museum and Mr Robot fame, and his performance as Freddie Mercury. It's been said in almost every critical review I can find, but it bears repeating: Malek's Mercury is a joy to behold. He brings such nuance to a very well-known and well-loved public figure, but at the same time, he really does make the role his own, and is definitely the glue holding the entire film together. Bohemian Rhapsody is not a bad film in the slightest, however Malek is so phenomenal in the role he outshines almost everyone else. He is so utterly believable as Mercury, that the emotion in certain scenes (specifically when Mercury finds out he has AIDS) really comes as a devastating blow to the audience, despite the fact that we already know how Freddie's story ends.

Also to praise is the fact that this film is cohesive, looks good and flows quite well, considering all the troubles it had in both pre-production and during filming. A large part of these troubles, seems to come with having the heavy involvement of Queen's surviving members, Roger Taylor and Brian May, who seem to have had many a 'creative difference,' with both actors (Sacha Baron Cohen, who was attached to the project to play Mercury before dropping out) and the production team, over whether or not to continue the film past Mercury's death in 1991.

The Empire review of this film puts it best by saying "Bohemian Rhapsody is three parts good but not terribly exciting, and one part absolutely joyful, fabulous entertainment that makes you forget everything else around it."

That statement is, I believe, completely true about this film. Yes, Malek's performance as Mercury is incredible, and he deserves all the Oscar buzz he's getting, but the film too often falls short at delivering the heavy hitting emotion that surrounds Queen's story. However, it is entertaining to watch and the last 20 minutes of the film (depicting the Live Aid concert) is a completely perfect, exceedingly emotional final act to the film.

There is a lot of unfulfilled potential about this film. A higher rating and a more explicit, less family friendly version would have been truer to real life events. However, Malek's Mercury and the final 20 minutes cannot be discounted, and in a more serious film, may not have shone as much as they do. For better or worse, the film that we now have is, I believe, not a perfect biopic, nor as good a film as it could have been, but it does what Queen themselves did. It entertains. It makes you lose yourself in the magic of rock and roll, it compels you with a Freddie Mercury that is (almost) as charming as the original, and at the very least, it's an excuse to go listen to some of Queen's greatest hits.

"This is where the Operatic section comes in" - Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)

-The Act of Writing-