This motion picture will somewhat rock you! It still had that killer queen, even with, its semi generic paint by number plot.

Rating: 8/10 (25 November 2018)

While, this movie hits the same old familiar plots thread that most biographic rockstar films have. There is one question, I had in my mind, after leaving the theater. Is this the real life, or is this just fantasy? How much of this biopic about British rock band 'Queen', front man, Freddie Mercury (Rami Malek) was historical correct & what were made up? Well, after doing some research. I found this film written by Anthony McCarten & Peter Morgan to be, not as accuracy as it should had been. Without spoiling too much, director Bryan Singer did allow a lot of artistic liberties. One such example is how Mercury got started. In truth, 'Queen' was not his first singer gig. Before them, Freddie was in a rock group called 'The Hectics', and later as a vocalist for the band 'Ibex'. Nor did Mercury met the other band members, Brian May (Gwilym Lee) and Roger Taylor (Ben Hardy) coincidentally at their concert as 'Smile', right after their lead singer quit. In truth, Mercury actually met them, while attending Ealing Art College. However, it wasn't until May and Taylor came to see him, perform with 'Ibex' that the first steps toward of hiring him, as the lead singer of 'Queen' took place. Even with that, Mercury didn't get the job that night. As for Freddie meeting his future girlfriend, Mary Austin (Lucy Boynton) on the same night as his first run-in, with the other band members. It's also bollocks. In reality, Freddie didn't date her, until much later. Despite that, it is true, that he really love her. Even on his deathbed in 1990, he often refer her as his only true friend to the point, that he left the majority of his belongings, when he passed away. I kinda like, how the film portray that, because, a lot of people thought he was only gay. In reality, he was more than that. It's just too bad, that the movie doesn't show much of his other true love of his life, Jim Hutton (Aaron McCusker). Even with the scenes, they did show, with him, it's not that accurate. Hutton was never a server at a hedonistic party hosted by Mercury, but a hairdresser, the singer met a nightclub. Despite that, I kinda dig the chemistry, the two performers had for each other. However, sadly, their character's relationship wasn't well established, due to bad pacing. Instead, the film focus way too much time, with the negatives of Freddie's other partner, Paul Prenter (Allen Leech). This course of direction feels a little bit one sided, as the film makes it, look like getting into a homosexual relationship might be bad. It gave the wrong tone. Nevertheless, it's during this time with Paul that the movie makes its biggest departure from the truth. In the film, we see the band livid at Freddie for going behind their back, for a solo deal. When in reality, the band all agreed on taking a break to focus on their solo careers, but they stayed in touch. Live Aid wasn't a reunion for the band. In real life, they had actually released their eleventh studio album and had been on tour all over the world that year. They were also well rehearsed by the time they were set to perform at the event. To dig further, one of their managers was never fired, because of the failure to mention that event. He was fired by Mercury for selling the singer's saucy personal information to newspapers, years later. As for record executive Ray Foster (Mike Myers), that hired the band and later, try to derail them. That character's conflict was also fake. That fictional figure was just add to put more dramatics & a punchline for an insider movie joke. Despite the band's personal story being less dramatic in real life, than the movie; their music is still impressive. Seeing how they were able to get the ideas for them, and produce it for concerts in a humorous way, was, by far, the highlight of the film. I just wish, the individual band members were explore more. We barely got to know anything about them. They were a little paper thin. Because of that, the acting for those performances also somewhat limited & didn't shine. It cause the performances to be only mediocre at best. Despite that, the actors chosen to portray them, did look the part. As for Mercury. Malek was alright. He truly did look & sound like the lead singer. However, the portrayals of Freddie's life and sexuality is a bit off. The singer was not as reckless in his promiscuity as the movie makes it out to be. He wasn't sexual harassing men. In truth, he was very extrovert and shy, particularly with others. The idea that Freddie would host all night orgies parties, joking openly about his sexuality, all the time is also very questionable. Most likely, he was in home, resting quietly, due to the pressures of performing during hectic musical tours & suffering from Kaposi's sarcoma, a rare form of skin cancer that cause him, great pain; that the film fails to mention. In conclusion, I think the director was just making Mercury seem like a sex hound to justify his own actions when it comes to the filmmaker's very public sexual abuse allegations cases. He's trying to say, he meant, no harm with his own engagements. Regardless of that, Bryan Singer still got fired from the production, after a fight with the cast & crew whom complained to the studio about the director's absences. While, Dexter Fletcher does a great job, completing the film. His editing style was not well balance. Too many quick cuts. Because of that, the timeline didn't float well. Everything seem rushed, even the visuals. Certain CGI parts were very choppy. In spite of everything, overall: 'Bohemian Rhapsody' is still champion material. It will make you go Radio gaga for it! That's for sure.