Excellent music masking an average biopic

Rating: 6/10 (8 April 2019)

Below the surface, Bohemian Rhapsody is not much more than an average amount of insight into Freddie Mercury's storied life, stretching from his start in music to the heights of stardom. A cursory search on the internet would glean as much information on Queen's history, which suggests that the band takes somewhat of a back seat to the main character (who I must admit is played very capably by Rami Malek); the real Brian May even expressed his disappointment in the fact that the storyline becomes marginalised by the music. Moreover, the story almost becomes too confused with Mercury's personal life - to me, this feels like a device to give the film some sort of dilemma, where ultimately none existed.
Regardless of this, Queen's starpower and Malek's performance saves this film: thumping anthems, big set pieces, and accurate musical performances make the big budget scenes really pop, particularly when reimagining Live Aid. Mercury allows the scenes to envelope you, focussing solely on the music and forgetting the interludes of storyline that almost feel required to allow the next song to be played.
I believe it says something when most of the other reviews of Bohemian Rhapsody focus mostly on the music - a core element to a quality film must be missing, explaining the divide between critics and casual viewers. A sense of nostalgia may even be possible with someone who grew up with Queen, but this isn't enough to elevate the entire experience to being truly special.