Bohemian Rhapsody

If Bohemian Rhapsody is so great, why was the best part of it Tom Hollander saying a single word? Don't get me wrong, Rami Malek deserves props for the role, that much is true (less perhaps than he's been getting, but still, props). But beyond that, Bohemian Rhapsody is bland, choppy, arguably even offensive. There might be some value in one of those sing-along type deals if you can get enough Queen fans together for one, but I'll never know, because I have no interest in re-watching this.

Final rating: - Had some things that appeal to me, but a poor finished product.

If Bohemian Rhapsody is so great, why was the best part of it Tom Hollander saying a single word? Don't get me wrong, Rami Malek deserves props for the role, that much is true (less perhaps than he's been getting, but still, props). But beyond that, Bohemian Rhapsody is bland, choppy, arguably even offensive. There might be some value in one of those sing-along type deals if you can get enough Queen fans together for one, but I'll never know, because I have no interest in re-watching this.

Final rating: - Had some things that appeal to me, but a poor finished product.

Bohemian Rhapsody is not a biography of Freddie Mercury, nor a biopic of Queen. It's a story based on a selection of key events occurring between the formation of the band and their appearance at Live Aid. As a Queen fan I found this film utterly engrossing and enjoyable. The acting brilliantly invokes the characters in the band and the music provides a thumping rhythm to carry the story along. Queen aficionados may be affronted by the out of sequence music performances and the highly selective approach to the story telling but if you can see past that, you'll enjoy a storming film with a spine-tingling conclusion as the Live Aid performance is brilliantly recreated.

Rami was beyond superb at bringing the light that was Freddie to life again. I almost couldn't tell the difference. It was so well done. Perfection. I wish all real life bio-pics could be as heartwarming, heartbreaking, and fun as this. We miss and love you Freddie.

I was scared to see this, mainly because most Biopics paint people in an absolutely horrible light and Queen was one of my favorite bands and Freddie one of my favorite rock vocalists. I was ready to rant and rave if it turned out to be a smear campaign of one of my rock heroes.

Fortunately it wasn't, it was actually a fair treatment of all of them. And, in fact, it was really generous towards May, but then he wasn't the focus of the film.

And the cast actually looked like Queen. So that is a plus. Everyone did a great job and props have to go out to Rami Malek, he would have been great if they gave him actual dialogue.

So why the single star? Honestly, it's because of the trailer. As in, if you saw the trailer you pretty much have...

A good film about one of the great rock bands of the 20th century.

This is one of those films that was made with the fans of a personality in mind, more than the rest of the public. This, however, is not exactly a problem in my eyes, it is rather a characteristic of this film, common to other biographical films that are centered on very popular figures such as sportsmen, musicians or others.

Directed by Bryan Singer, the film covers the journey of the notable rock band Queen and its lead singer, Freddie Mercury, who immortalized himself with memorable performances and a sense of stage and spectacle that only big stars possess. Mercury was also notable for being one of the first major superstars to openly embrace his homosexuality ...

There are plenty of opinions as to how authentic this is, as a retrospective on the life of Freddie Mercury; but there can be no doubting that the pairing of Rami Malek and Queen's music makes this a captivating couple of hours of cinema. We are taken on the compelling and enthralling roller-coaster that was his life and the excesses of his lifestyle and behaviour are comprehensively conveyed without being at all graphic, or even particularly seedy. Malek is simply magnificent. Tom Hollander is also outstanding too. I bet it did wonders for sales of Queen music too - they created one hell of a repertoire.