Overpraised music biopic

Rating: 7/10 (15 July 2019)

This film probably works best for people who do not remember Freddie Mercury. If you have seen his dynamic performances and felt his charisma, then perhaps you, like I, will be constantly comparing Rami Malek and find his lack of similarity to Mercury to be a glaring problem. Freddie Mercury was not conventionally handsome, but my lord, he sure was attractive. He lit up the stage and you didn't really notice physical flaws (except maybe that overbite).
Don't misunderstand me, Malek gives a fine performance, but he lacks the undefinable "it" quality that made Mercury a magnetic force that could not be denied. There is also the problem of some moments when you can hear speech problems caused by the prosthetic teeth he wears to simulate Mercury's unusual dentition. Freddie's teeth were quite unusual but they gave him no speech impairment.
There is a long sequence of Queen doing a live performance at Live Aid. Malek's version of this is a pale imitation of the real thing for me. He accurately mimics the gestures, but the dynamic personality and the on-stage confidence is just missing. It's like watching a very good karaoke performance.
Even IF Freddie Mercury was truly an unhappy, tormented soul in his private life, that never showed up in his performances. This is certainly a watchable movie, but I was rather disappointed in it, given all the awards and hype it had.