"Just put on a great f..... show, and just don't kill yourself with drugs."

Rating: 9/10 (8 November 2019)

For whatever reason, I didn't catch this in theaters during it's opening run the way I did for "Bohemian Rhapsody". I think I liked this one slightly better, even though I'm not that much a fan of movie musicals. The way this story was presented was cleverly and artistically well put together, though if put into perspective, many of Elton John's mega-hits seemed to have been written well before he made his American debut at The Troubador at the age of twenty five. I never followed Elton's personal life that closely, but that all seemed to be poetic license for the sake of a narrative flow. Taron Egerton did a bang up job here, not only looking like Elton John on the way to super-star status, but sounded quite a bit like him as well. Given that Elton John himself gave Egerton and the film his blessing is all anyone needs to know about the underlying substance to the story. It's a shame that Reginald Dwight's parents never really cared for him, but then you have to consider how much that sadness translated into the singer's overall success. What the film put to rest for me was Elton's relationship with song writer Bernie Taupin, as I never really knew if Taupin was anything more than a collaborator rather than a musician himself. Additionally, as I watch all my films now with captioning enabled, I was surprised to learn how much of John's popular lyrics I never really knew. So overall, this was an entertaining experience, and one I'd welcome viewing again. The surprising thing is, it's actually shorter than one of Elton John's concerts. The man can do three hours without a break, always giving fans more than their money's worth.