Rocketman (2019) Movie Review

ROCKETMAN (2019) MOVIE REVIEW

Director Dexter Fletcher and seemingly overnight leading man Taron Edgerton team up again to depict the fabulous life of Sir Elton John. With their first collaboration in 2015's Eddie The Eagle being a success with casual movie-goers, it seems only right that they give the coin other toss in the form of Rocketman. Managing to delight the same demographic seems to have worked but Fletcher could have trouble snagging critics of the bio-pic genre. Especially with Bohemian Rhapsody being fresh in their minds. 

Musical bio-pics have more often than not been successes both financially and critically. Films like Walk The Line and most recently Bohemian Rhapsody have proved that there is high demand for musician's lives to be retold on the big screen. Glitz and glam was always a main stay of John's life and all of this is shown in raw detail and leaves little to no stone unturned. Beginning from when he was young, we are shown that his family life was a miserable time for the pop star and rapidly becomes the driving force for his future songs as depicted through musical performances. A phenomenal idea for Fletcher as these quick bursts of energy is exactly what Elton was known for and let the audience enjoy what they knew him for. High octane performances accompanied by beautifully orchestrated music. These also helped make the film stand out from others in the genre. All but one which came out not too long ago. 

Perhaps the biggest criticism Rocketman has received is its similarities to Bohemian Rhapsody and while some is warranted, most of the critique given to writer Lee Hall isn't exactly fair. The main issue is timing. Bohemian Rhapsody took years upon years to get green lit and was actually only given the go in 2018. Rocketman on the other hand was being written around the same time and most likely did not even know when the 'competition' was going to be released. Unfortunate circumstances and bad timing resulted in these two similar personalities and stories to be released within months of each other. If Rocketman had waited just those few extra months or even a year, we could witness a much larger buzz surrounding not only the film but Taron Edgerton's performance as Elton. Delivering a meaningful and honest depiction of any well-known figure is tough to do. Having already portrayed another famous personality in the form of Eddie Edwards defiantly aided Taron but while a good performance, it does come across at times he is simply doing an Elton John impression rather than trying to capture the emotion and mannerisms that made Elton a household name. 

In the end Rocketman was a really good experience. It's hard not to compare this movie to Bohemian Rhapsody but if you can try and ignore the latter, Rocketman did many things a bio-pic should. It depicted beautiful and vulgar relationships, showed his most famous moments and songs alongside wonderfully choreographed musical numbers and introduced a generation to a music legend they somehow do not know. Go into this one without comparison and you'll have fun tapping your toes and humming along to each song. 

OVERALL

7 / 10