Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)

[Con 5,719]

Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)

Best Picture Nominee 

The Awesome: @LimeGreenLegend already posted a great review on Page 16 and I don't know that I have anything better to add: 

The Good: Anyone that is a fan of Queen will review this film with some bias but I never bought Queen music but have appreciated listening to their hits all my life for example,  the song "Eye of the Tiger" and "Rocky" films, chanting "We Will Rock You" at every sporting event I have ever attended, singing "We Are The Champions" when FSU won the National Championship, etc. I have been a fan of Queen by default. I enjoyed the film because the Freddie Mercury (Malik Remi) is so convincing and committed to the role, now I have not watched enough Queen or Freddie footage to be an expert but I felt he conveyed the personification I came to expect from someone playing Freddie Mercury. I really liked how they show the contributions of the other band members towards some of their most iconic songs. You do get the feel of how far their music reached around the world and how it positively impacted people.

The Bad: At times it just feels really low-budget, more of a made-for-TV feel in some parts.  I found the film too conventional and by the numbers. I mean I know its a biopic but at least tweak the formula so it fits with the eccentricity of the main character and by the way this line is actually delivered in the film by Freddie...."We don't follow formulas." The changing of directors is never a good thing and this happened to the film not sure I noticed the shift but could be the reason certain freedoms were taken and why the film feels like it's stuck between two versions of itself.  I think they missed a great opportunity with the controversy that would have been a "Paki" singing lead unlike any other group at the time and while I wouldn't have wanted to watch a bunch of hate crime moments, I think there was richness in that struggle that surely, Freddie must have experienced in that political and social climate. I think they associated being gay with his downfall and I thought that was a bit unfair since straight performers have also fallen to their own addictions and no one ties that in with their sexuality but gay performers are almost always portrayed in this manner and it is done here in the third act. 

The Ugly: Creative freedom in a biopic can be dangerous and like I have stated, I not being the hugest Queen fan, watched this with perhaps a different point of view, but nonetheless expect for the filmmakers to be somewhat historically accurate with the important details, like the way Freddie auditions for the band, when in reality he had pestered them for months to let him sing with them. I was shocked to learn that the real Freddie already knew one of the band members from his childhood, in the film this is certainly not even implied and instead we get a parking lot audition which made me believe that is how the group was introduced to Freddie's talent. I also found out that Freddie was actually a musical prodigy by age 7 and his talent was no secret, I would have loved for the movie to have followed things more accurately and took creative freedom based on facts, this is why giving everything a Hollywood treatment is not a good idea. If you are making a Queen/Freddie Mercury biopic craft it for the Queen fans not the extra-casual fan like myself. Some of the CGI crowd during the Live Aid concert reenactment was bad which could have been avoided by just using stock footage of the real crowd.  

Final Verdict...4/5...While it fails in some things it really excels in other things and pays tribute to Queen in general and how their musical artistry influenced a generation and the contributions that made them musical icons. The film feels like it wants to tell two stories, the Queen and Freddie story but I felt like what I got were two half-cooked halves and that was odd because of how much substance both the story behind Queen as a group and Freddy’s personal journey both have and instead they seem to go all cautionary tale in the third act which does a disservice to the story because it comes across as if Freddie’s full embrace of the gay lifestyle was his downfall when at the time, there was no way he could have anticipated getting AIDS, as the gay lifestyle was just about having fun, being themselves, freedom from societal norms, etc, during this time. I admitted that I am not the biggest Queen fan, so my score is based more on the fact that I walked away knowing an altered version of the truth like Freddy learning about his disease before the Live Aid concert but there I was watching that moment thinking, he is singing his heart out because he knows his time is limited...nope, he was just a badass mofo when he was on that stage. This wasn't a documentary and would be impossible to fit every accuracy into a two-hour Hollywood film so I guess I have to keep that in mind. Did it deserve the Best Picture nomination? Yes. Because it accomplishes what it sets out to do and that is give us a glimpse of an amazing group and its amazing lead singer and how they created and paved the way for freedom of expression and their unique songs that became instant classics around the world.

Edited February 14, 2019 by Con

[JustHatched 12,123]

59 minutes ago, Con said:

Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)

Best Picture Nominee 

The Awesome: @LimeGreenLegend already posted a great review on Page 16 and I don't know that I have anything better to add: 

The Good: Anyone that is a fan of Queen will review this film with some bias but I never bought Queen music but have appreciated listening to their hits all my life for example,  the song "Eye of the Tiger" and "Rocky" films, chanting "We Will Rock You" at every sporting event I have ever attended, singing "We Are The Champions" when FSU won the National Championship, etc. I have been a fan of Queen by default. I enjoyed the film because the Freddie Mercury (Malik Remi) is so convincing and committed to the role, now I have not watched enough Queen or Freddie footage to be an expert but I felt he conveyed the personification I came to expect from someone playing Freddie Mercury. I really liked how they show the contributions of the other band members towards some of their most iconic songs. You do get the feel of how far their music reached around the world and how it positively impacted people.

The Bad: At times it just feels really low-budget, more of a made-for-TV feel in some parts.  I found the film too conventional and by the numbers. I mean I know its a biopic but at least tweak the formula so it fits with the eccentricity of the main character and by the way this line is actually delivered in the film by Freddie...."We don't follow formulas." The changing of directors is never a good thing and this happened to the film not sure I noticed the shift but could be the reason certain freedoms were taken and why the film feels like it's stuck between two versions of itself.  I think they missed a great opportunity with the controversy that would have been a "Paki" singing lead unlike any other group at the time and while I wouldn't have wanted to watch a bunch of hate crime moments, I think there was richness in that struggle that surely, Freddie must have experienced in that political and social climate. I think they associated being gay with his downfall and I thought that was a bit unfair since straight performers have also fallen to their own addictions and no one ties that in with their sexuality but gay performers are almost always portrayed in this manner and it is done here in the third act. 

The Ugly: Creative freedom in a biopic can be dangerous and like I have stated, I not being the hugest Queen fan, watched this with perhaps a different point of view, but nonetheless expect for the filmmakers to be somewhat historically accurate with the important details, like the way Freddie auditions for the band, when in reality he had pestered them for months to let him sing with them. I was shocked to learn that the real Freddie already knew one of the band members from his childhood, in the film this is certainly not even implied and instead we get a parking lot audition which made me believe that is how the group was introduced to Freddie's talent. I also found out that Freddie was actually a musical prodigy by age 7 and his talent was no secret, I would have loved for the movie to have followed things more accurately and took creative freedom based on facts, this is why giving everything a Hollywood treatment is not a good idea. If you are making a Queen/Freddie Mercury biopic craft it for the Queen fans not the extra-casual fan like myself. Some of the CGI crowd during the Live Aid concert reenactment was bad which could have been avoided by just using stock footage of the real crowd.  

Final Verdict...4/5...While it fails in some things it really excels in other things and pays tribute to Queen in general and how their musical influenced a generation and the contributions that made them musical icons. The film feels like it wants to tell two stories, the Queen and Freddie story but I felt like what I got were two half-cooked halves and that was odd because of how much substance both the story behind Queen as a group and Freddie's personal journey both have and instead they seem to go all cautionary tale in the third act which does a disservice to the story because it comes across as if Freddie's full embrace of the gay lifestyle was his downfall when at the time, there was no way he could have anticipated getting AIDS, as the gay lifestyle was just about having fun, being themselves, freedom from societal norms, etc, during this time. I admitted that I am not the biggest Queen fan, so my score is based more on the fact that I walked away knowing an altered version of the truth like Freddie learning about his disease before the Live Aid concert but there I was watching that moment thinking, he is singing his heart out because he knows his time is limited...nope, he was just a badass mofo when he was on that stage. Th wasn't a documentary and would be impossible to fit every accuracy into a two-hour Hollywood film so I guess I have to keep that in mind. Did it deserve the Best Picture nomination? Yes. Because it accomplishes what it sets out to do and that is give us a glimpse of an amazing group and its amazing lead singer and how they created and paved the way for freedom of expression and unique songs that became instant classics around the world.

I've not seen the movie, nor will I. Not a fan of Queen, I am the genre just not them. There are songs I once "liked" but at my age after you've heard it the 10,000 time ya just turn the channel

[djw180 7,006]

I'm a huge Queen fan and loved the film, but was actually surprised it did so well overall as I didn't think non-Queen fans would like it so much.

@Con Just picking up on couple of things you mention. I've read 2 biographies of Freddie Mercury and seen many documentaries on him and Queen, and these are the impressions I get from those and my own recollections growing up in the 70s and 80s.

I've never read or heard of him knowing other members of the band in childhood. He was born in Zanzibar (Southern Africa), went to school in India and the whole family moved to London when he was in his late teens. As I understood the basic story of the band's formation, which the film covers but speeds up, Brian May and Roger Taylor where in Smile whilst at university in London and Freddie was a fan of the band who got to know them. When the lead singer / bassist Tim Staffel left, Freddy replaced him as the singer and after trying a number of bass players eventually John Deacon joined.

I do not ever recall anyone mentioning Freddie's race, religion, family background etc. He had quite pale skin and I assume most people would just have thought he was white. So I suspect the reason the film only refers to this once is because it just was something hardly anyone made an issue of, neither positive nor negative.

According to the most recent biography I read, when Freddie first had an HIV test they were not 100% accurate and so he did not believe the positive result. Over the next couple of years he had more tests and even though they all kept coming back positive he seemed to cling to the hope that they were wrong. I don't know if by the time of Live Aid he had accepted he was HIV positive or not. It seemed to be that he knew he was ill, but irrespective of whatever it was, he just wasn't going to let it stop him making and performing music.

 

Edited February 14, 2019 by djw180

[Con 5,719]

3 hours ago, djw180 said:

I'm a huge Queen fan and loved the film, but was actually surprised it did so well overall as I didn't think non-Queen fans would like it so much.

@Con Just picking up on couple of things you mention. I've read 2 biographies of Freddy Mercury and seen many documentaries on him and Queen, and these are the impressions I get from those and my own recollections growing up in the 70s and 80s.

I've never read or heard of him knowing other members of the band in childhood. He was born in Zanzibar (Southern Africa), went to school in India and the whole family moved to London when he was in his late teens. As I understood the basic story of the band's formation, which the film covers but speeds up, Brian May and Roger Taylor where in Smile whilst at university in London and Freddie was a fan of the band who got to know them. When the lead singer / bassist Tim Staffel left, Freddy replaced him as the singer and after trying a number of bass players eventually John Deacon joined.

I do not ever recall anyone mentioning Freddie's race, religion, family background etc. He had quite pale skin and I assume most people would just have thought he was white. So I suspect the reason the film only refers to this once is because it just was something hardly anyone made an issue of, neither positive nor negative. 

According to the most recent biography I read, when Freddie first had an HIV test they were not 100% accurate and so he did not believe the positive result. Over the next couple of years he had more tests and even though they all kept coming back positive he seemed to cling to the hope that they were wrong. I don't know if by the time of Live Aid he had accepted he was HIV positive or not. It seemed to be that he knew he was ill, but irrespective of whatever it was, he just wasn't going to let it stop him making and performing music.

Thanks for the insight. I think why the movie did good with casual Queen fans like myself is that there was purpose in what Freddie was doing, his style, his sound...and that is what I appreciated about the movie. I gave it such a high rating because I was entertained the entire time and like I said, this isn't my fave music genre to begin with but at no time did I lose interest.