A disappointing biopic, undeserving of Freddie Mercury's extraordinary talent

Rating: 3/10 (23 January 2019)

Honestly, I'm sure most people who read this review have probably seen the film by now. It's made huge box office results, split critics but loved by audiences, as evidenced by its (current) place on the IMDB top 250. It recently got Oscar nominations and Golden Globe wins, showing that this review is not going to stop people from seeing it. However, it's frankly underwhelming, far below the standards set by the larger than life band. That's not to say there aren't positives about the film:
1)- Rami Malek is fantastic as the lead part. Despite being a huge fan of his work in 'The Pacific' and 'Mr Robot', I was unsure about how well he would do as Freddie Mercury. However, he truly knocked it out of the park with this one. He makes the frontman seem far more complex and interesting than the film's script ever does.
2)- The Live Aid sequence is great (although it does suffer from some rather dodgy CGI crowd scenes). It gets every little nuance of the performance down to the tee and reminds you how Freddie Mercury and Queen were like no other band ever.
3) Obviously, the soundtrack is fantastic. Honestly, I think Queen's music is likely the reason why this film scored so highly on IMDB. A great soundtrack can cloud people's judgements about a film, since those songs will stay in the hearts and minds of people for years to come.
The big problem that the film suffers from is the script. There's just nothing particularly interesting about it, considering its exceptional star. The first 40 minutes of the film is easily the worst aspect of the film. We never know why or how Freddie became a singer or how he became such a great singer. He and the band hardly seem to struggle at all before they get signed by a manager and become a mega-success. It seems more like a Wikipedia summary rather than a full-fledged, structured script, that features a horrendously embarrassing cameo from Mike Myers ( with the most unsubtle in-joke ever featured in a film).
Freddie's relationships with the other characters are also incredibly weak. Despite the controversy beforehand, I can't say I took too much of an issue with how they deal with Freddie's sexuality. However, it does seem a little odd that Freddie's biggest relationship with his female partner Mary. Whilst it does feature more of Freddie's sexuality later in the film, it does seem strange that he never really has an impactful relationship with anyone other than Mary. Even still, her character is so weak that we never really get a sense of what she meant to Freddie. One minute, they're in love and the next minute, Freddie admits his sexuality and leaves her. It's rather odd that the film didn't attempt to expand on this.
Furthermore, I felt sorry for John Deacon (not a producer on the film) , considering Brian May and Roger Taylor (both producers) seem to get most of the credit for the band's success. They get the most screen time in the film besides Freddie, most likely due to their involvement with the film's production. Mind you, all the characters are pretty two-dimensional besides Freddie. I wouldn't have been able to distinguish any of the band member's if it wasn't for their already well-known status (and their wigs). Take away Queen's music and you get a cookie-cutter portrayal of a man struggling with his fame. Nobody would even be talking about this film if they hadn't licenced the music from Queen. It honestly reminded me a lot of Clint Eastwood's 'Jersey Boys' in terms of how the film was structured. It's just one event after another. They make hits without ease, with some melodramatic squabbling thrown in. Like that film, I never understood why Freddie falls out with the band. One minute, they're getting along and making hits and the next, he decides to leave them.
I didn't hate this film. I was singing along to all of Queen's songs and the band has certainly dominated my Spotify listening since watching it. The film just never arises above what could've been a fantastic movie. Queen deserved better than this!