BEWARE Favored Critics-It's one Big Pity Party of a Film

Rating: 2/10 (30 May 2019)

BEWARE Favored Critic Reviews because a record amount of FREE stuff was given to all media who attended the sneak previews. Large "R" books, fancy bouquet tied around colored clear wrap, Elton faces on large sticks, etc. I have been to sneak previews when you were guaranteed a pass when they sent you an invitation, those days are long gone, now adays they ( Allied, etc) send out twice as many invitations and whomever answers social media the fastest (forget even email invitations, those are gobbled up with the same IP's merely in a matter of minutes,) so seeing "full" less than one hour of being sent an email is a sad joke, not a proper promotion. Worst part this theater only had about 65 of 110 seats filled, again perhaps there is no policing of IP addresses from social media requests.
Never have I seen so much promotional giveaways of any movie in decades, if ever. That is why any "critic" review should be taken with a grain of salt.
Fortunately, come Academy Award time, these promotional gimmicks have no bearing. The movie trailer does not accurately show this film as the musical it really is, so many may be turned off by this alone. Mr. Egerton sings the songs himself, though Elton vocal range is nothing compared to Freddie Mercury, so Taron's ability to sing is commendable but not extraordinarily difficult compared to MANY actors and actress who have done the same you would never have known they sing at all, whether they use LaDiDa app, or vocal harmonizers, the final sound in a film is anything but live. This film in no way should be compared to last year's most favored film, but after a few months the distinction
shall be realized. Worth a watch? If you like the glamorization of Reginald Dwight, and pass over the real man who despises his "fans" and ironically , the media; which has fallen all over itself to get favorable initial reviews to keep an interest in this film as Summer Blockbusters, Godzilla, etc and the winter (& final) "Star Wars" blasts off to try & catch "Avengers: Endgame" this film needs all the promotion it can get. Will you walk away "getting" Reginald Dwight? of course not, but you will of the persona called Elton John. Sidenote: the portrayal of Elton's first manager was misrepresented completely, further illustrating this films sensationalism rather than a true to life musical, NOT a BioPic. Opening weekend results just in & Rocketman sputters at #3 with $25 million, half of the King of the Monsters & box office, Godzilla.