Poll Bohemian Rhapsody - The Queen/Freddie Movie

[DonIago]

Saw it a few weeks ago.

Short version - It's a really good "Intro to Queen" movie, but if you're looking for anything deeper, look elsewhere.

Loved - the acting, hearing and seeing the music performed on a big screen (folks waiting for a home purchase will miss out in this regard), seeing Aidan Gillen get "Game of Throned", the idea of this as what actually happened.

Didn't Love So Much - finding out how much of what's in the film isn't exactly true-to-life. YMMV on how much of a problem this is, but for me it's a significant one.

I will say the movie made me more of a Queen fan than I was before (which is to say I bought the film soundtrack and a three-CD Greatest Hits compilation), so in that regard it was pretty successful I suppose.

I just wish it had offered more reality and less fantasy.

There's an Elton John movie in the works, and I'll say at least that one wholeheartedly embraces the fact that it's a fantasy film.

 

[Gaith]

I think you just have to look at it like one of those films such as In the Name of the Father, where they took the general bones of the story and did their own version of it, rather than a faithful accurate biography.

No disrespect to Queen, but I find myself far more forgiving of such fudging in a rock band biopic than I do all the straight-up invented elements of a political movie like BlacKkKlansman. Had this movie been a Netflix miniseries, they could have been significantly more accurate, but in a two-hour, three-act movie, there are direct trade-offs to be made in terms of accuracy/drama.

... Which leads me to wonder, have there been any dramatized musical biopic miniseries? (As in real, 8+ hour shows, not glorified two-part TV movies billed as miniseries.) If not, I wonder if Rhapsody's success will inspire any.

Also, I don't know how true this is, but here's Elton John saying he and Freddie were good pals:

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I gotta admit, after the Rocketman preview played before the movie, I started to hope for a Taron Edgerton Elton cameo... should we get a petition going to have Malek's Mercury appear in Rocketman?!

 

[clorets]

I will echo what everyone else has said. Good movie, good acting. I can understand that parts are fictionalized since it is a movie. What I dislike about it is that it is fairly typical of other biopics of other musicians. It won't be long remembered.

 

[DonIago]

I did mean to say that in my head there were a fair number of moments that reminded me of "Almost Famous", which may still be my favorite rock movie.