Brilliant.

Rating: 8/10 (26 November 2018)

Being a fan of many genres of music, and my obsession with the life of musicians, makes every movie like this, which tells the stories of bands and artists, very exciting for me. Being young, I never saw Freddie Mercury live, and have only really seen him in footage from concerts and short snippets of interviews. Yet, from them alone, the clear confidence and the fiery, showman like nature of Freddie Mercury, made me believe, that being yourself, and thriving under that, can give you a huge chance of being successful.
Going into this movie, I had heard a lot of things about how this movie failed to show the flair that Queen and Freddie Mercury possessed. And that the changes of director and cast members meant that this movie didn't have the identity that a movie about Queen needed.
However, I felt that it was quite the opposite. This movie told the story of how Queen rose and peaked, with many set backs along the way. It also showed how important each member of the band was, in grounding and supporting fellow members when needed.
A story that had the right tone was key for this movie. There were scenes that were were over the top in some moments, but it worked. The loud, glistening perfomances worked well against the sometimes quite life of these artists. So the odd eccentric moment gave the sense of duality that a movie needed. The success of this movie was mainly down to superb performances across the board. Rami Malek was incredible as Freddie Mercury. Incredible. His ability to portray the duality of Freddie, the fiery showman like nature that I mentioned before, on stage and in front of any type of crowd against the slightly subdued man, that hid when he was confronted emotionally. Rami Maleks emotional timing, and superb use of body language meant he dominated the screen every time he was in shot. This performance was supported fantastically by the other cast members, who all made this movie seem like a documentary.
Being a musician, this movie constantly inspired me. Especially the sequence where the band made Bohemian Rhapsody, my favourite Queen song. The transition from the intimidating first world tour, to a quiet country home, with just the band made me made me feel part of it. Followed by a sequence that showed a band that feared nothing, and one that wanted to test the industry. Incredible film, once again driven by impeccable performances, making it feel even more real.
A must see for everyone, especially those who need inspiration, and a confidence boost. All helped by the infectious vibrant aura, that came from Rami Maleks Oscar worth performance As Freddie Mercury.
My only complaint is that there wasn't enough!!!