Enjoyable but thin on substance

Rating: 7/10 (12 November 2018)

The music is great, Remi's performance was amazing, and the recreation of the Live Aid show was exhilarating to watch, but I have two issues with the movie. One, it was not really a biopic on the band, because we dont get any background on the other band members besides Freddie Mercury. They mention wives and kids, but we never see them or find out anything about them. We don't get any info on the other band member's lives when the band started, like we did with Freddie, other than the mention of "dentist" and "neurophysicist".
The second problem is that Freddie's issues seem to happen and then resolve so quickly they are glossed over. Freddie's father is clearly not ok with his lifestyle but suddenly seems proud of him and hugs him as he's headed out the door to perform at Live Aid, as if everything is ok now. His drug and alcohol problem doesn't seem to be such a problem other than he shows up late for rehearsal and the other guys are annoyed. There are a lot of things that should have been covered that likely just couldn't have fit in a typical movie length production, but there are so many good stories that weren't included.
Anyway, it's completely worth seeing, the music is great, and Remi WAS Freddie Mercury. The performance and concert scenes were creatively well-shot and fun to watch. Just wish that more of the rock and roll lifestyle and history of the band could have been built into the story.