Live Magic On Screen

Rating: 9/10 (28 October 2018)

This movie needs to be seen on the biggest screen with the best sound system. It's an engaging two hours plus and culminates with an unbelievable re-creation of four of the six songs from the band's Live Aid set in 1985. The film faithfully captures the feel of the 70s and early 80s. The songs of course are top rate, and If the film is ever in danger of flagging, up comes another fantastic song, more often than not followed by the live performance: check out 'We Will Rock You' at Madison Square Garden. Having seen the group many times, rest assured, the live sequences are spot on. Rami Malek gives a stunning performance as Freddie and although at the beginning the famous teeth seem a bit too big than they were in real life, when the trademark moustache appears halfway through the movie it seems to be less of an issue. Gwilym Lee in particular looks and sounds uncannily like Brian May and there's strong support from all of the cast. I would single out Allen Leech as Paul Prenter - a long way from Downton Abbey....., and Lucy Boynton as the 'Love of my Life'. Plus there's a gem of a turn from Mike Myers as an EMI executive. Look out for the quip about performing rock songs in cars.
Yes, the dialogue is a bit cheesy in places but I suspect it's actually quite realistic as seldom do I recall a band being more focused or having more self-belief - because "that's Queen".... which is probably exactly right. For the majority of the movie the dialogue works fine: if you're looking for Oscar-winning screenplays look elsewhere, that's not what this movie is about. No doubt Queen purists will spot several inaccuracies, e.g. Fat Bottomed Girls - great song at the wrong time; and Freddie probably had no moustache when We Will Rock You was recorded. Overall though this doesn't detract from the experience of the film, and if you want textbook accuracy, go see a documentary. Note - the one major inaccuracy was Mercury's announcement of his AIDS diagnosis before the Live Aid concert, which was not the case in reality, but probably justified dramatically in view of the scene which follows.
The gay aspect is certainly neither ignored nor whitewashed. Particularly impressive were the choroegraphed scenes (presumably based on the Mineshaft in New York) during during 'Another One Bites The Dust' interspersed with the live performance; the creation of which smash song is a highlight of the movie.
However it's the last 20 minutes at Live Aid which really caps the movie and must be one of the most thrilling sequences committed to film. Every move the band makes is exactly as it happened - see the existing recordings of the actual event. That scene is worth the price of the admission alone.
Ignore the critics: as Freddie would have said - "they're talking out of here" (pointing behind him), and go and enjoy a little bit of live magic on the screen.