Tale of iconic pop superstar devolves into A Star is Born (but with much better music!)

Rating: 6/10 (26 July 2019)

After taking over the helm of Bohemian Rhapsody when disgraced director Bryan Singer was forced out, director Dexter Fletcher is back, this time covering an even more iconic pop star, Elton John. His Rocketman has been described as a "jukebox musical" but with all of John's songs out of chronological order. So for example, John's 2001 hit, I want love, ends up at the beginning of the picture, during John's childhood, sung by the young Elton and his parents.

John apparently wanted it this way as the songs are supposed to reflect his inner feelings at the time and since some of them are staged as over the top spectacles (during the Rocketman number, actor Taron Edgerton playing John is shot into the sky as a rocket!), one tends to ignore the haphazard chronology.

As for Edgerton, he's probably best with the choreography, staging some entertaining, up tempo dance numbers throughout (coupled with a multitude of nifty costume choices). Less successful are his vocals which are decent enough but let's face it, how can anyone equal the Elton John originals?

The film starts with a framing device as John walks into what appears to be an AA meeting and begins telling his story from the beginning. For a good part of the film, his life in flashbacks is not only entertaining (due to the great music) but quite informative as well. Especially interesting is John's musical talent as a child-he could hear a tune on the radio and play it back on the piano immediately!

Less successful is screenwriter Lee Hall's depiction of John's parents who come off as unaffectionate and distant (the father) or highly critical (the mother). This is based on John's recollections to this day; apparently the pop star was particularly distressed by memories of his father Stanley (Steven Mackintosh) showing affection to his stepbrothers later on.

But other family members (particularly John's stepmother) disputed John's portrait of a remote and unfeeling parent. She reported that she still has the receipt for John's original piano which the father purchased (not the mother, which is what John recalls). Furthermore, the stepmother maintains John's father was actually proud after he became famous and attended his concerts.

The same goes for the vindictive portrait of the mother who actually blurts out that she wished she never had children in the film. But the real life story appears more complex as John's mother Sheila (Bryce Dallas Howard) often defended her son and expressed pride in his success. It might have been better if director Fletcher overruled John and his screenwriter and presented a more sympathetic, balanced picture of the parents.

John's rise to the top keeps us absorbed as we learn many things about how he became successful. Of particular interest is his stint as a child prodigy at the Royal Academy of Music; his time as a teenager with Bluesology, a rock band that ends up playing backup for a touring American soul band; how he met his lyricist, Bernie Taupin (an endearing Jamie Bell) and his doomed dalliance with manager John Reid (Richard Madden), with whom he has his first gay relationship.

Rocketman eventually morphs into the similar cinematic tale of alcohol addiction, A Star is Born (except having much better music). John's debauchery is on full display toward the last third of movie and it suffers due to the obsession with the icon's sad sack days. His resurrection into a sober and confident married father, now accepting his sexuality, is only mentioned briefly during the closing credits. Yes of course it happened but somehow there could have been a little less emphasis on this sad chapter and rather emphasizing much more of the positive in the multi-talented singer/composer's life.

For all its limitations, Rocketman still manages to entertain and inform, so it's worth a shot, even if you must wait until it appears on cable TV.