"We Are The Champions." "Don't Stop Me Now." "Another One Bites the Dust." "We Will Rock You." "Somebody to Love." "I Want It All." And, of course, "Bohemian Rhapsody."
Queen. You recognize the legendary band's songs from advertisements, movies and also your own playlists. I think I have it figured out why we are so accustomed to their songs. Most of those songs speak to people when it is the right time whether you are celebrating after a victory, wanting to dance or simply wanting to rock like this clip down below.
What a memorable moment from Wayne's World, which is a very good movie. Bohemian Rhapsody is quite a difficult song to sing but the movie above achieved the impossible with singing the song as close to pitch-perfect as possible. But, many people were clamoring for a "Queen" film as people wanted to explore how they became a sensational band but also explore behind-the-scenes of what Freddie Mercury was like. This movie has a grand distinction between conventional storytelling and sensational camerawork and a great message but it seems that I fell for more of the latter than the former as I understand that the story has been told before.
A British Indian Parsi student and baggage handler named Farrokh Bulsara (Rami Malek) goes to a nightclub to watch a local band. He meets guitarist Brian May (Gwilym Lee) and drummer Roger Taylor (Ben Hardy). The local band's vocalist/bassist quits to join another band and Farrokh offers to be the new band's lead vocalist. He and a bassist, John Deacon (Joseph Mazzello), the band calls themselves Queen to play multiple gigs across London. They begin to produce their first album and their music is sold to EMI Records.
After legally changing his name to Freddie Mercury and marrying his first love, Mary Austin (Lucy Boynton), Farrokh starts to question his sexuality. The movie starts to picks up as we follow him throughout the 1970s and 1980s as he reveals his bisexuality to Mary, his relationship with his personal manager, Paul Prenter (Allen Leech) and Live Aid, which causes tensions amongst the band.
Honestly, while watching this movie, I was starting to tell myself maybe the mixed critical reviews maybe reflect on the content and bland direction in the first 30-45 minutes. The movie started conventional and not as exciting and became a general film. But, when the movie picks up on the band's success and Freddie Mercury's personal life, the movie becomes inspiring, entertaining and also surprisingly emotional. But, you can predict the events of what is to come because we have seen many of these musical biopics. Without spoiling, the structure is a bit similar to Straight Outta Compton except this is movie is a bit safe because of the PG-13 rating and also the controversy in its production, with Bryan Singer, the director, being allegedly fired for his absences and disagreements with the production. Sacha Baron Cohen, who was originally going to play Mercury, was out of the production due to creative differences.
Despite the unevenness of the production, the one element that works is the magnificent performance by Rami Malek. Hopefully, not hurt because of the controversy, it should not derail his chances of an Oscar nomination because even though the Best Actor category is stacked, there should be room. He blends like a chameleon to look like the actual singer, ranging from his voice to his dancing moves. Also, there is some poignancy in his performance as the movie reaches in the emotional aspects in which the topics of bi-sexuality and AIDS arise in his life. I wish we had more scenes with the supporting players because after the first half, they are sidelined. Mike Myers has a brief supporting appearance that is quite hilarious paying a counter-homage to his homage to Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody of saying that it is unworthy.
Again, Singer tries exceptionally hard to make the concert scenes feel immersive and it is as you feel like you're in the crowd and it is amazing on the big-screen. But, he lacks direction and prowess in the movie's dramatic scenes as I felt like it needed to take it up a notch with Mercury's personal life and also the fallout between the band members. Yes, the movie will be emotional to some but I wanted more weight on its content. The movie has flaws throughout the film, again, more in its first 30-45 minutes, but I cannot deny being entertained throughout the film due to the production design, the music and Rami Malek's triumphant performance. I wished the movie was one of the great music biopics, but I will settle for this one.
***
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