It Will Rock You

When it comes to musical acts, there are two kinds of people. There are those who swear up and down that the Beatles were the single greatest thing that happened to music, and those are do not believe that hype. I am of the latter. Yes, the Beatles made some nice music, but the greatest ever, I don’t think so. Am I saying that Queen was the greatest musical act of all time? No, but they made great songs. In my humble opinion, there isn’t any debate over who the greatest frontman to a band was, is, or ever will be; and the answer is Freddie Mercury.

Bohemian Rhapsody chronicles the life of Farrokh Bulsara, the man who would become Freddie Mercury, from the time that he joined Queen, to the band’s performance at the historical Live Aid concert. As good as the movie is, the troubled production overshadows most discussions of the film. Rami Malek, of Mr. Robot, stars as Mercury, and he completely disappears into the role. Granted, his appearance can be jarring to some, between Malek’s brightly colored eyes, and him having Mercury’s trademark mustache, and large teeth, it’s a lot to take in.

The film was directed by Bryan Singer, which is where most of the controversy comes from. Singer had to answer for claims of sexual harassment from his past, and another director had to step in to finish filming principal photography. Likewise, there’s all the talk of Sacha Baron Cohen portraying Mercury early on in the pre-production, but he left over creative differences, supposedly because he want to lean heavily on Mercury's sexuality, and more gossipy aspects of his life.

Malek’s great performance aside, the movie is not all that different from other biopics based on the life of a musician, such as Ray or Walk The Line. All the tropes are there: what his early family life was like, the day the band was discovered by a record label, creative and financial troubles when it came to their career defining, hit single ("Bohemian Rhapsody" being six minutes long was a big deal to the band’s record producer), the struggles of married life while living on the road, the loneliness and mistrust of everyone around you once you’ve reached the height of your fame and fortune, the touring across America montage, and the band having creative and personal arguments. But at least it’s all well filmed, and it’s impossible to take your eyes off of Malek.

Cliched formulas for musical biopics aside, there’s nothing inherently bad about the movie. Granted, it did get some pushback, because it played down Mercury’s bisexuality and struggle with AIDS, more than some people cared for. And again, Bryan Singer’s legal woes also caused a sour note for some, even if the end product is a well directed film. The dialogue is peppered with a few funny one-liners, which is always welcome.

The supporting cast is made up of unknown character actors, and they all do fine for themselves, but again, Malek is the big star, and everyone else just orbits around his gravitational pull (see what I did there?). Also, be on the lookout for Mike Myers; it’s hard to spot him, as he’s under heavy make-up. He’s also on the receiving end of the movie’s greatest one-liner, and it instantly goes on the greatest insults in the history of movies list. On the downside, I thought the movie could have focused more on Mercury’s life before he joined Queen. You don’t really get a sense of what kind of person he was before he invited his rockstar persona, and I thought that was an idea worth exploring.

The movie won Oscars for Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing, which some might find amusing that a movie can win two Oscars for incorporating Queen's music (thus making everything sound great), considering that Queen is the subject of said movie. Best Editing was another Oscar that this movie won, which I’m not too sure of. Granted, there is this one transition where a roster is about to crow, but it cleverly cuts to the band singing the impossibly high pitched “Galileo” part of "Bohemian Rhapsody." However, such neat tricks like those don’t show up all that often. In the end, if you are a fan of Queen, then this is certainly the movie for you.

There probably won’t ever be another studio-backed biopic on Queen, especially one with full cooperation from the surviving band members. All their greatest hits are played, and Malek might as well be channeling the spirit of Mercury, as he has all of his mannerisms down. Malek winning of the Best Actor Oscar was a given. Some would argue that he was being rewarded for doing nothing more than a glorified impersonation, but they forget that Jamie Foxx won Best Actor 14 years earlier for doing the same kind of pitch perfect impersonation of Ray Charles. Acting is about believably becoming a different person, mannerisms and all, and that’s what Malek does.

Overall, I give Bohemian Rhapsody a much deserved four out of five stars. It’s nothing groundbreaking in terms of storytelling, but Malek's performance and the use of music is worth the watch. I saw the movie via Netflix DVD rental, but the movie is still available in some theaters at the time of this writing, so I highly recommend watching via either format. You’ll probably have Queen songs playing in your head for days afterward, but that’s the risk you should be willing to take. That concludes this fanpicked review. And remember, when it comes to the media that you consume, be like Indiana Jones, and chose wisely.

Short Version

Pros:

• Rami Malek’s Oscar winning performance.
• The music of Queen (of course).
• Funny one-liners and clever insults.

Cons:

• Rest of the cast is overshadowed by Malek.
• Story could have explored more of Mercury’s pre-fame life.
• Might be off putting to those expecting more about Mercury’s sexuality and struggle with AIDS.
• Verdict: **** ( four out of five stars).