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Rating: 3.5 out of 5
I will fully admit that I don’t know much about the legendary music group Queen. As many times as I have been to sporting events and heard songs like “We Will Rock You,” “Another One Bites the Dust,” and “We Are the Champions,” how didn’t I know those songs were made by Queen? Also, I found out that Queen did the Highlander soundtrack. “Princes of the Universe” is a great song in that movie where “there can be only one!” My best friend is a huge Queen fan, and I was like, okay, and really didn’t know they made such great hits. I was very intrigued to see this film, and boy was Freddie Mercury, a wild person with a style for the ages.
Bohemian Rhapsody is a movie based on the rock band known as Queen. The story chronicles the group’s music and their extraordinary, eccentric, and wild lead singer Freddie Mercury (Malek). From the humble beginnings when Freddie approached the band to be their lead singer. The film traces the meteoric rise with songs that will make you stand up and stomp your feet while clapping along. Even with their success, egos start getting in the way as Freddie turns down a dark path and soon shuns his once group members and family for a solo career. Yet, in the end, the group gets back together and puts on a show of a lifetime for Live Aid. The group cements their legacy as one of the greatest rock bands of all time while Freddie faces his mortality by being diagnosed with AIDS.
Bohemian Rhapsody should’ve been called the Freddie Mercury story because that is what the movie is about. It starts off with the introduction of Freddie and then ends as a group of Queen, but it pretty much revolves around the eccentric singer. It’s not a bad thing because he was the lead singer and had so many issues that it would make a comic book series blush. To me, the film should just be about him because he was far more interesting than anyone else, and everyone else just seemed like side characters in his story. I forget that back in the era of Freddie Mercury and even Elton John that one’s sexuality was looked down upon, and Freddie definitely tried to combat that by keeping private even though the music videos and costumes were ostentatious. He did say he was bisexual, and anyone should be happy. It showed some drug use, but I want to see people go off the deep end. To be honest, from the film, Freddie never seemed to get in trouble with the law, but the news conference was quite strange because it was definitely someone talking when they were high. Yo! I like how the film hit all of Freddie’s iconic looks. Also, the film shows Freddie’s relationship with his father and how he seemed to be ashamed of who he was as a person. I tell you, there are a lot of layers to Freddie that were really left unexplored.
One of the significant issues I had with this film is the timeline. It just seemed way off. How does it go from the group partying and hooking up with girls? Hell, in one scene, Roger was in the back of the bus or van with two women, and then the next at a party for Freddie, he is like, I’m married, and don’t you talk bad about my wife. I’m like, when the freak did everyone get married. One second, the band is traveling in a van, and the next Freddie, has bought a freakin large ass house and is one of the most famous artists in the world. Even though the dates flashed across the screen, it seemed to go by so fast that you never really knew what year things were happening. I really wanted to see more group dynamics because we saw some fights and frustrations, but everything seemed to be cool until Freddie went solo for a while and his life went to dog shit.
One of the things that I was looking forward to was how they came up with all their incredible music hits because they seemed to have so many. The only one the film really went into was Bohemian Rhapsody. I guess that was the group’s most famous album. It was a joy to watch the group develop the album as they go to a farm and make their famous song. Also, during this period, Freddie’s sexuality comes into question. When showing it to the producer, I like how he was like it’s 6 minutes long, and no one will play it. Now, six minutes is like the standard. Besides that, the film really glosses over how their great songs are made. It was like Freddie would walk in and be like, what beat are my darlings play? Then all of a sudden, he drops those epic lyrics, and he was out. It was like that throughout the movie. Freddie, you’re late! I’m never late, my darlings. What beat are you dropping? The person plays a few notes, and then Freddie sings some lyrics. Hey, we do get the classics “We Will Rock You” and “Another One Bites the Dust” and how they were made.
I will say that the Live Aid part was entertaining to watch. I read that they recreated the whole thing shot for shot, and it worked. After everything the group went through, I liked how it ended on that high note because they sure did show their stuff. When you watch the actual Live Aid concert, you can see how much energy the group brought along with the sing-along that Freddie did with the crowd. It will bring a smile to your face.
As far as the acting goes, Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury was OUTSTANDING! Many people take on the character and role, and he seemed to embody everything about the great singer, from his mannerisms to body language and everything else. He was one of the best aspects of the whole movie and one of the few reasons the movie is actually decent.
Bohemian Rhapsody is one of those films that really didn’t meet expectations. It is a great start if you want to know about Queen, but you will have to go deeper and do your own research in the group and the lead singer. This film should’ve been called Mercury because that is the whole premise of this film. Rami Malek did a marvelous job as Mercury and carried this movie to the finish line. Have fun singing some of your favorite Queen songs.
