Definitely worth seeing but don't expect it to get deep

Rating: 9/10 (17 November 2018)

I knew very little about Queen before seeing this movie and wasn't familiar with their music aside from their top 10 hits. I mainly wanted to go because I was a big fan of Rami Malek's from watching Mr. Robot. I was also infatuated with how completely Malek seemed to embody Freddie Mercury in the side-by-side comparison photos I kept seeing for the film.
While I was mostly riveted throughout the whole film, thanks to Malek's dedication to the character, I was disappointed repeatedly each time it would get to an interesting aspect of Freddie's life, such as his relationship with his parents, only to have the scene end a minute or two later and then it would cut back to the studio.
Multiple times throughout the film I felt like I was watching a VH1 behind the scenes documentary of Queen rather than a biopic of Freddie Mercury. This feeling was cemented when the last 20 minutes of the movie was used to recreate an uncut Live Aid performance easily viewable on YouTube. I would have much rather they condensed the Live Aid performance into a 5-minute highlight montage and used the other 15 minutes to share more of Mercury's off-stage life. The cinematography was wonderful though for a lot of the performance scenes. A lot of swooping that made you feel like a bird watching the shows. A couple of the shots took my breath away.
Despite these shortcomings, I absolutely loved this movie. It might have only touched on Freddie Mercury's life but it made me laugh, it made me cry and even better, it ignited a curiosity about Freddie and the band that has resulted in me listening to every Queen album repeatedly. I now completely understand why this band, and especially Mercury, were worth making a movie about. It's not often I come across a band who is so experimental musically, has such a charismatic, engaging, talented front man and encourages each other to pursue personal projects as well. This band got each other and embraced their differences rather than allow them to cause a divide.
I guess in that way the movie succeeded because it led me to become a huge fan of their lesser known music and I have a whole new admiration and respect for Queen. Freddie Mercury was incredibly private and protective of his personal life. Since this film was helmed by his loyal surviving band mates, it only makes sense that the film feels like a tribute rather than an exposé.