Posted by Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)
Directed by Bryan Singer
Screenplay by Anthony McCarten
Written by Anthony McCarten, Peter Morgan
Starring: Rami Malek, Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy, Joseph Mazzello, Lucy Boynton
The story of the legendary rock band Queen.
This film is an entertaining look at the formation of one of the world’s great rock bands. Anthony McCarten (Darkest Hour) and Peter Morgan (Rush) developed the story, with McCarten finishing the screenplay. Bryan Singer (X-Men: Days of Future Past) directed the film. The stars include Rami Malek (The Master), Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy (X-Men: Apocalypse), Josph Mazzello (Jurassic Park), and Lucy Boynton.
This film earned an impressive five Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. It was beat out in that category by Green Book.
This movie is a well-written but somewhat cookie cutter biopic. McCarten crafted a good story that dives right in to the history of the band, keeping the central focus on Freddie Mercury. Throughout the film the music is used to great effect. As a film made for the fans, this is perhaps the best aspect of the movie. There are some great moments that take the audience inside of the creative process. The story has a lot of heart and a little humor that blend nicely throughout. Unfortunately, there are far too many moments that lack the subtlety that might have given the film a little more impact. As it progresses the film quickly becomes predictable, and the finale is an overly romanticized version of the real events.
Rami Malek led the way with an excellent portrayal of the iconic Freddie Mercury. The rest of the cast also did good work, helping to create the kind of chemistry that the story needed. Overall, the cast only seemed limited by the script, which seemed to rely on dialogue far too often. Despite these limitations, Rami Malek took home the Academy Award for Best Actor in the Leading Role.
This film does a lot of things right. In addition to Malek’s win, the film took home Oscars for Best Film Editing, Best Sound Editing, and Best Sound Mixing.
While this is a good movie, there’s nothing here that breaks the mold of the musician biopic. Fans of Queen will enjoy the music and the history, but they might not learn much that isn’t widely known already. If you’re not a fan of the band, this might not be for you. I give this one 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 134 Minutes
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