Stomp stomp clap. Stomp stomp clap.

Rating: 8/10 (8 November 2018)

I was rocked. Could go on and on about how the movie was a wonderful tribute to Freddie Mercury and Queen, warts and all, and was ultimately a movie about love and family but-- that would be selling "Bohemian Rhapsody "short.
What really made "Bohemian Rhapsody" an exceptional musical biopic was how it handled the music and the fans. It didn't just lazily roll out the "Greatest Hits." It showed the creation of several of their chart toppers and illustrated how the band considered the fans interest in, enjoyment of, and investment in the music at every juncture. The music was also used to show where Freddie and the band were at the specific time of release -- dramatizing everything from Freddie's sexuality to his relationship with both his family and the band, his other family. All these themes and fan-service came to a tremendous crescendo in the third act, which centered on the band's performance at 'Live Aid." I got a bit emotional. No lie.
Bohemian Rhapsody is a loving ode to Freddie Mercury, Queen, the music, the fans. It's everything this type of movie should be. 100% worth see.
Notes:
Rami Malek was tremendous, like Oscar caliber. The rest of the band: Gwilym Lee (Brian May), Ben Hardy (Roger Taylor), Joseph Mazzello (John Deacon), where also terrific. Ditto for the other supporting cast.
The movie was well directed except for a few cliche sequences used to cover the passage of time.
It had a very straightforward, and then... and then... plot structure, but was otherwise very cleverly written. Art times, inventive, and even funny.
The constraints placed on it by run-time and the Biopic genre are the only reasons I didn't give it a higher mark. Honestly could've watched a three-hour version of this movie that went more in-depth with Freddie's personal life and the bands travails. Fingers crossed for a Director's Cut.