Electrifying & Dazzling, with some cheese

Rating: 8/10 (15 November 2018)

Music biopics are arguably more entertaining than documentaries since they tell a (largely) true story about the subject matter while following a cinematic movie formula. However, this happens to be the biggest weakness for them, as history is often rewritten and edited for the sake of dramatic effect. Since this review is overall positive, I will begin with the negatives by addressing historical inaccuracies as one of the films biggest weakness. For Bohemian Rhapsody, the same issue occurred during the writing of the script, which made many of the dramatic elements seem overacted and unnecessary. Many moments of Freddie's real life are implemented into the story to add tension and drama to the relationship among the band members when in actuality there was not nearly the same level of tension. The film is being heavily criticized by liberals for being demeaning towards the LGBTQ, where really the issue I have is that it often portrays Mercury as the cause of all the band's problems just for dramatic effect. While largely paying homage to the legend, many parts of the film make him look like the stereotypical asshole diva superstar that was not the complete truth. I will not further describe which scenes are historically inaccurate, but I will leave a link to a page that will gladly do so, if you dare.
Another aspect of weakness that I found with the film was the dramatic "cheese", moments added to add drama to make the film more like a film. To me, these attempts to make the biopic more cinematic came across as, to quote Childish Gambino, "unnecessary". Even with the largely amazing performance from Rami Malek (more on him later), there were moments where his dramatic acting fell short and the scene came across as almost laughable. While I do have more to say on his performance and the performances of the other cast members, I do not believe that Malek deserves an Oscar nomination.
With that said, the film also seemed to rush through the rise of Queen as a band and their ascent to fame. It takes a matter of twenty minutes or so for the band to go from starting off to signing with John Reid (Aiden Gillen, did good), which was a big deal since Reid was the manager for Sir Elton John. Many biopics follow suit with this as well; Straight Outta Compton, still the best biopic ever, had the rap group's rise and breakup happen within the first half of the movie, which left room for other aspects of the lives involved with the band members. Bohemian Rhapsody wasn't able to use this formula the best way nor did the movie suffer as a whole, but I certainly would've liked to see more scenes centering on the band's rise. Overall, the film "needed" to add drama and fake history to add to the cinematic effect and fill in the runtime. While these aspects may have hurt Bohemian Rhapsody from being truly amazing, the music and performances were amazing.
I must bestow praise to all those involved with camerawork, film editing, and set designers for their amazing artistic input that brought the movie to life. Every music biopic that I have seen has made me appreciate the music and the artist(s) more. I have felt a connection with these films that have made them worth investing time into over and over again. All previous biopics, however, pale in comparison to the magic of Queen that Bohemian Rhapsody brought to life with such realism. The settings, costumes, and perfect recreation of the band's performances allowed this film to emerge from its weaknesses to become a truly enjoyable experience. It also set this film apart from other biopics by adding a unique style and flair that exemplifies what Queen as a band embraced back in the day. It'll send chills through your spine and maybe inspire you to become the next great music artist, because God knows we need much help fixing music (except rap).
The performances by the cast members themselves were amazing across the board, from the band members of Queen to the supporting characters of the story. The highlights were Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury (obviously), who prevails through some bad moments by nailing all the movements and mannerisms of Mr. Mercury. The live performance scenes in particular were perfectly executed, as the lip-syncing and Mercury theatrics would make you believe that Rami was Freddie himself. I was also impressed with Gwilym Lee's excellent turn as guitarist Brian May, achieving the perfect recreation of May from accent to acting according to the scene's tone and objective. One more performance I would like to highlight was Lucy Boynton as Mary Austin, who I believe brought the most emotional complexion among the cast, being able to properly add drama to an otherwise lighthearted film.
Even though I highlighted the recreation of the setting and band performances already, I must write a separate paragraph to highlight the final scene of the film. That would be the re-enactment of Queen's legendary Live-Aid performance at Wembley Stadium in 1985. I have already pronounced it personally as one of the greatest movie scenes of all time, because it perfectly recreates the excitement, energy, and spectrum of the band's performance that they gave many years ago. I felt that I was apart of that crowd and that Rami Malek was in fact Freddie Mercury while being inspiring. When a film can do that to your emotions, it is a truly well-crafted work of art. Call me melodramatic, but I am somewhat of a Mercury-level diva myself.
As with all films, Bohemian Rhapsody is not without flaws; there are moments of overly-dramatic elements, and some of the actual history has been rewritten to add to this effect. These flaws should only be in a made-for-TV movie on Lifetime Network, but certainly not the film's positive qualities. Bolstered by the set design, amazing cinematography, editing, and cast performances, the film is certainly an achievement for music biopics. It brings one of the greatest songwriters and vocalists to life, and gives audiences a movie centered on a band who made music for the people. Critics can say what they want, but ask the fans of rock and they'll place Queen among the greatest acts of all time. The film brought them to life in astounding fashion, and has allowed to world to gain a greater appreciation for art that we may never encounter again.
Overall, I would bestow this film an 8/10, which translates to being worth your $12.
I have already seen this film twice in a span of three days, so it may be worth buying on Blu-Ray eventually.