A Reel Review: BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY

Similar to Queen, the legendary band it portrays, BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY took a rocky road before landing on the big stage. After many starts and stops, re-castings and battles with studios and surviving band members since 2010, the film finally went into production with director Bryan Singer (X-MEN) at the helm. Singer was dismissed right in the middle of filming due to absence and clashing with the cast and crew and was replaced by Dexter Fletcher. What we are left with is this…

Freddie Mercury (Rami Malek), and his band Queen (Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy, Joseph Mazzello), ride the rock and roll train to success through years of recording albums and touring the world. As the band grows bigger, Freddie explores his sexuality, which tests his relationship with the band and his fiancée Mary (Lucy Boynton). 

There is a standard formula that nearly all rock n’ roll biopics are helpless to follow, and RHAPSODY is no different. All the standard steps are there; lead character with daddy issues, chance encounter with his future bandmates, awkward beginnings, rise through fame, excessive drug and booze, tensions, breakups, an awakening and triumphant return to glory. While the film can’t be faulted for following the formula (formulas work), RHAPSODY seems to lack a special ingredient that gives the old recipe something fresh. There are little to no risks taken at all. 

Freddie is rightfully at the front of the film at all times, and there’s hardly a scene without him. It’s really his movie, and although RHAPSODY closely and with great detail follows the steps of his life, takes one too many shortcuts. We never see how Freddie’s talent for showmanship and songwriting ever comes to be; when he first shows up, he’s already great at it. It feels like a cheat, and for a biopic it’s a glaring omission. 

The musical performances are the highlights of the film. From the band’s humble shows at smoky pubs to their glorious and historic performance at Live Aid, everything is shot and edited beautifully. The Live Aid performance at the end, recreated in stunning, perfect detail, is nothing short of jawdropping. Frustration sets in because every one of the fantastic shows have to end and we have to get back to the behind the scenes dramas which are dull and un-inspired. The change in directors can especially be seen in the editing. Many scenes go on for way too long; just when the point has been made, five more redundant minutes get tacked on. Long-time fans will also notice that the film plays it loose with the band’s history as the timeline is all over the place. There are a lot of liberties taken for a true-story movie. 

Acting is tremendous. Rami Malek recreates every move and tick of Freddie Mercury in amazing ways, and his quiet times are done even better. Gwilym Lee is an eye-popping dead-ringer for Queen guitarist Brian May (seriously…he’s like a clone), and Ben Hardy and Joseph Mazzello are also perfectly cast. Lucy Boynton turns in a good role but feels underutilized. The supporting cast of Aidan Gillen, Tom Hollander, and Allen Leech are all very good. An unrecognizable Mike Myers pops in as a record executive who refuses to play Bohemian Rhapsody on the radio due to its length and makes a clever joke about kids headbanging in their cars.

It’s easy to give BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY a pass because of the deep love everyone has for Freddie and Queen, and the musical presentations are more than worth the ticket. The Live Aid performance scene is one of the most exhilarating sequences ever put on screen, and if this film were a ball-game, that scene would be the hail-Mary that salvages a tie. But all films must be judged as a whole, and despite its high marks, the lows can’t be dismissed. Just like any rock band. 

BOTTOM LINE: Rent it