These are the days of our lives

Rating: 7/10 (18 January 2019)

My youngest son who was born years after Freddie Mercury died. He started to sing some Queen songs when he was still a toddler. I knew then that their music was going to live forever. They have joined The Beatles and Abba whose songs transcends generations.
A lot about Freddie Mercury is well known. Bohemian Rhapsody brings very little that is new to the table.
Credit has to go to Bryan Singer for framing the story from the band's beginnings to their triumphant performance at Live Aid in 1985.
I was worried that some white actor would play Freddie Mercury, real name Farouk Bulsara who was of Indian origin. Rami Malek is at least of Egyptian origin.
We see young Freddie working at an airport. When a student band loses its lead singer, Freddie offers his services, he could reach some high notes and he dresses extravagantly. When the band has some initial success, he becomes legally Freddie Mercury.
The band members have a tumultuous relationship. John Deakins is more normal, Roger Taylor could be temperamental, Brian May had big curly hair and a homemade electric guitar. All of them could write songs and fight to get it on the albums. Together they created a string of hit songs. Some of them catchy: We Will Rock You, others were more extravagant such as Bohemian Rhapsody.
Freddie though although he has a girlfriend from the early days of the band is soon struggling with his sexuality. As the band gets bigger, his appetite for a hedonistic lifestyle increases. This includes casual relationships with men and self destructive behaviour that causes further conflicts within the band.
Singer knows how to lift the film with Queen songs. He does well to recreate the events of Live Aid which is the point where the band best known songs get pump out.
Queen aficionados would know when liberties have been taken with the truth and the timeline of the band.
Malek delivers as Freddie, especially with the accent. I thought Joseph Mazzello was good as Deakins. I enjoyed the unrecognisable cameo from Mike Myers as the record head.
After Bohemian Rhapsody finished, my wife turned around and said she was really entertained by the movie.