Loved it!

Rating: 10/10 (4 November 2018)

Here is where the critics get it totally wrong. Freddie Mercury was NOT a gay icon. He was a ROCK icon. Back in the 70's we didn't know he was gay. When it finally became known, nobody cared because even those against gays (and in those days there were many) were already totally blown away by Queens music and especially Freddie's charisma. He wasn't loved BECAUSE he was gay. He was loved IN SPITE of being gay. We all know about his personal life by now. We don't need to see an entire movie about his sex life. We want to see a movie that reminds us if why he was so loved, even by homophobes.
In 1977 when my husband was 17 he got a call from a school friend asking him to go see a Queen concert with him. My husband said no because it was a school night and he didn't really like them much. A little later the friend called back begging him to go and offering to pay since he had found no one else. My husband finally gave in and went. He said within seconds of the opening song he became a life long Queen fan and was totally blown away by Freddy Mercury's stage presence. This movie perfectly captures that feeling for Queen fans. Not that we've forgotten, but it recreates the love we all feel for the band and the over the top personality of its lead singer. Oscar worthy performance by Malek. To this day my husband likes to gloat that he saw Queen live and I never did. I (not so) secretly hate him for it.