ROCKETMAN is shy of reaching the goal it aims at albeit hitting all the right notes

Rating: 8/10 (14 October 2019)

Dexter Fletcher's jukebox biopic about British national treasure Elton John, né Reginald Dwight, ROCKETMAN touches all the right notes: Taron Egerton wonderfully shows off his vocal range and re-records John's hits with assertion; it doesn't skip John's queer sexuality like what they have done to Freddie Mercury in BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY (2018) and faithfully reproduces John's flamboyant outfits to bedazzling potency; plus an imprimatur from the singer/song-writer himself, a rare holdover surviving the inimical double influences from alcoholism and drug abuse, the blasé trimmings of showbiz stardom, and for that matter, the film indeeds commences with John, in his devil-with-horns attire ablaze, strutting into one of the addiction rehabilitation meetings, eagerly relates his own redemptive tale from the very start.
Flashback from his early days, to his smooth sailing to fame and then its heavy tolls are welded with John's signature songs, Lee Hall's script mainly attributes his success to his inborn talent (a distinguished retention of strains, a natural pianist with no difficulty of churning out hit numbers) and good luck - roundly hitting it off with his long-time collaborator....
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