Despite some streatching the truth, this is a solid, entertaining biopic!!!

Rating: 8/10 (5 November 2018)

Cinema has many bio pics about people from all walks of life; famous, infamous and some even legendary. Their subjects pull us into theaters to learn more about them and we hope that their story will be as entertaining as it is enlightening. The newest biography to hit screens is about the band Queen and their lead singer Freddie Mercury, as legendary as they come in rock music.
The film shows us the band's early years as they formed when guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor lost their lead singer/bassist and was approached by a young singer named Farrokh Bulsara. He took the nickname Freddie and would change his last name to Mercury. After recruiting bassist John Deacon, the foursome would call their group Queen and become one of the most innovative and creative in rock. Their live performances were sellouts mainly for Mercury's flamboyant and theatrical style as well as his superior vocals. In his early days his is involved with a woman named Mary Austin, a woman he loves dearly but his true sexual preferences would take over and as he is touring Mercury would secretly have sex with men until he is confronted by Austin who breaks up with Mercury but remains close friends with him. Like many groups, Queen had their ups and downs. The film highlights some of these moments culminating with their greatest performance, a performance that many consider the greatest in music history.
For fans of the band this is a must see, you'll probably recognize that the film does take some liberties with Mercury and Queen's story but it is able to keep the story moving and entertaining in a cohesive order. At the forefront is Rami Malek's performance which is impressive. He delivers Mercury's presence in the film's many stage performances as well as his personal mannerisms we have seen in interviews. Although most of the singing is past recordings of Mercury, you have to forgive that Malek couldn't duplicate his immortal range. As far as the rest of the band, it proves to be one of the film's shortcomings due to a drab, almost ordinary presence by the rest of the group. It almost seems they purposely didn't want to upstage Malek by making them too likable or personable, but in the scene in where Mercury announces that he is going solo is where they shine and come alive for the rest of the film, so this criticism doesn't go through the whole movie. What the move does hold is perhaps one of the greatest in-jokes in the history of film with Mike Myers as a record executive telling the band that their groundbreaking hit "Bohemian Rhapsody" isn't the type of song teenage boys will listen to in their cars banging their heads along with. It didn't hit me of the irony of Myers' role in the film until he says this line. If you don't get it I won't explain the brilliance of it, you'll have to get it yourself. Much is being made of the lack of Mercury's gay lifestyle, instead it shines more on his relationship with Austin. I think the balance was justified because she was truly his best friend and love of his life. There are many scenes of him with men. Perhaps it's the fact that the most negative influence on him in the film is from a gay man that has upset some. It does share a glimpse of his relationship with Jim Hutton, who was his partner the final years of his life. Like many bio pics it does take liberties with actual events and timing; for example the rousing Live Aid performance is built up by a few untruths like Mercury discovering he has AIDS before the concert (most accounts have him finding out in late 1986) or that the band hadn't played together in years before Live Aid because they had broken up (in reality they were just coming off of a tour to promote their newest album). What was true was the band slipped in popularity in the states and they weren't probably the most anticipated performances of the lineups from either the US or England concerts. What the film does deliver, and deliver well was the reception they got from the Wembley crowd. Although it doesn't recreate the entire 20-minute set, it certainly hits the highlights from their opening "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Radio Gaga" in which they had 72,000 people clapping in unison with the song or swaying together during "We Are the Champions". It's truly one of the most emotional moments of the film and easy to see why it is called one of the most important moments in music history.
Its not perfect and its not the best of the year but thanks to Malek's strong performance and its interesting central figures, "Bohemian Rhapsody" is a film well worth seeing. It's a celebration of a great band and if your not a big fan of theirs you might come out of the theater as one thanks to a great ending.