An overall fun and very memorable biopic

Rating: 8/10 (25 May 2019)

I'm not gonna lie and say that I'm a huge fan of Queen, as I've never really delved that much into their discography and history. I've always liked them just fine, but I've never been crazy about them personally. With that said, just know that I didn't have any high expectations going into this movie, as this review is more so how well this works as a film rather than the accuracy of it all. Thankfully, this movie is really awesome, as it is one of the most fun musical biopics I've seen in recent years. The performances were all fantastic, the story is well written, the casting was damn near perfect, the music is fantastically recreated, the script is well written, and the overall flow of the film is great. Rami Malek really makes this film, as he was fantastic as Freddie Mercury, and the Oscar he won for this role was 150% well deserved. And while that all sounds well and good, there are a few things that keep it from reaching the heights of true amazingness. There are some scenes that can sometimes either drag on too long and others that can end before it reaches it's full potential. This doesn't happen a lot, but it can be annoying when you want to see a potential sub plot be explored more. One big example is when Freddie signs a contract for a solo record deal. The most the movie shows of this is just him telling the band about it and how he wants a break, and that's about it. On the other side of the coin, some scenes can feel unnecessarily long, such as the scene where they are trying to sing high for the song "Bohemian Rhapsody". This never happens enough to be a big deal, but it's a bit overdrawn at times. The other thing, while not necessarily a thing against the movie as a whole, is the inaccuracies. I know I said I'm not reviewing this film for accuracies, and that still holds true, but this is still something I wanna address. For those expecting a "based on a true story" kind of film, this movie does not really fall into that category. Sure, there a few things that are true, but about 80% of the events that happen in this film are false, and while, at first, that may sound like a bad thing, the thing you have to keep in mind is the probability of the actual events being good for film. I can fully understand that it may be disappointing to hardcore Queen fans that most of the true events aren't in this film, but if the events were changed to make the film flow better, then so be it. I enjoyed this film for what it is, and I think it is an excellent representation of Queen. After this film, I'm actually thinking about checking their stuff out. With that said, I do recommend this film to anyone out there who's a Queen fan, as well as anyone who wants a fun and musical biopic, as this delivers on both fronts and then some. With the right mindset, this film is an overall fun and very memorable biopic that'll live on as something truly special from 2018.