Friday, August 16, 2019

Movie review: Bohemian Rhapsody

 
 Bohemian Rhapsody is the story of the band Queen with a focus on the lead singer, Freddie Mercury. From the forming of the band to their Live Aid performance in 1985, the story follows the first 15 years of the band.

Rami Malek (Freddie), Lucy Boynton (Mary), Gwilym Lee (Brian), Ben Hardy (Roger), Joseph Mazzello (John Deacon), Aidan Gillen (John Reid), Mike Myers (Ray), Allen Leech (Paul), Tom Hollander (Jim).

Bohemian Rhapsody begins following Farrokh shortly after his emigration, before the band was formed. Realizing his interest in music and an opportunity with a failing band, Farrokh forms the band Queen and changes his name to Freddie Mercury. From there the band is off and running with Freddie driving the music in multiple directions while at the same time struggling with his orientation and lack of approval from his father.

What makes this story interesting aside from the fame of Queen is that Freddie made many mistakes yet the band continued to succeed. Where the film fell flat was with dramatic scenes that either had little impact or dragged on somewhat pointlessly.

Acting was solid with Malek delivering wonderfully throughout the film. Boynton was a nice match with Malek and also did nicely. Lee was an amazing fit for the character of May and managed it well. Hardy, Mazzello, Gillen, Myers and the remainder of the supporting cast were solid and enjoyable.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds were well done with nice attention to detail that did a lot to engage the audience with the band and Freddie's life. Dialogue was solid with good depth and fit. Sound and soundtrack are exceptionally well done with plenty of Queen hits.

While Bohemian Rhapsody is an enjoyable film, those wanting mainly performances by the band may be disappointed. Those with an interest in the history of Queen or Freddie should enjoy this one.

With a fair amount of sexuality, some mild violence, and foul language, this should be fine for teens and above.

Released: 2018
Reviewed: 8.15.19
Star rating: 3 out of 5
Genre: Music, Drama, Biography, Classic Rock, Period Pieces

copyright ©2019 Dave Riedel

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