Better titled as Yellow Brick Road

Rating: 7/10 (23 September 2019)

The title Rocketman doesn't really work for this musical biopic by Dexter Fletcher, a longtime actor trying to direct and with not much success. As others have noted, the production is kind of all over the place, some parts decent other parts forgettable. Many key sequences are put to music which are hit and miss, take Rocketman for instance, you'd think it would have something to do with outer space or its loneliness but they pair it with a hospital scene, ugh. Taron Egerton excels in the role but the supporting cast fades pretty much. The film, with Elton John as one of the EPs, does reveal to us his life of being mostly unloved by parents and those that profess to love him, with Bernie Taupin really being the only one by his side the whole time. One key disappointment was that it gave such short shrift to his first marriage to a woman and whiffed on the associated "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" hit song. Another disappointment is that it doesn't keep us informed of what year many of the scenes play out. This biopic could've and should've been so much better.