Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)

“Bohemian Rhapsody” is a strange musical biopic because the absolute best parts of it are the songs themselves. It’s a generic, formulaic story including all the tropes you’d expect from this genre, with some abysmal editing and a surprisingly fluffy depiction of Queen. A good performance by Rami Malek and the obvious inclusion of some of the greatest rock songs in history add enough entertainment value to the movie, but “Bohemian Rhapsody” is nowhere near as good as it should be.

The only member of the cast that is particularly noteworthy is Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury (who won an Academy Award for his performance.) Malek brings an energy and enthusiasm to the role that saves many moments in the film from being completely dull.

The other cast members don’t leave much of an impression. The three actors that play the other members of Queen (Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy and Joseph Mazzello) aren’t necessarily bad, but they only seem to be in the film so that they can drone on about how wonderful Queen were. Don’t get me wrong, I love Queen’s songs, but the lines of dialogue that tell the audience that “Every band’s not Queen”, are so lazy. The writers should have made the assumption that the majority of people who wanted to watch “Bohemian Rhapsody” were fans of Queen already, and therefore didn’t need to be told what Queen meant to their legions of followers.

It seems pointless to mention it, but the songs in “Bohemian Rhapsody” are truly exceptional, from “We Will Rock You” to “Another One Bites the Dust”, this film houses some of the most powerful and truly awesome songs ever written. However, it’s incredibly jarring when the movie cuts between the original version of a particular song and an incarnation sung by Rami Malek. Malek does a good job capturing the rhythm and sound of Freddie Mercury’s voice, but the differences between the two become very apparent when you hear them in quick succession.

I don’t wish to spend too long discussing the dreadful editing in “Bohemian Rhapsody”, as this film was upstaged by a turbulent production, but if you want to understand why this movie’s Oscar for Best Editing was unjustified, go and watch a hilarious video on YouTube that displays the 61 cuts in one two minute dialogue scene. Even when the movie focuses on a couple of people talking, the camera cuts between different angles like a dizzy headless chicken!

Unlike the recent “Rocketman”, “Bohemian Rhapsody” doesn’t subvert the biopic genre by including imaginative and surprising musical sequences that defy conventions. Whereas “Rocketman” used Elton John’s extensive music library to create jaw-dropping and dream-like scenes that delved into the psychological identity of its protagonist, “Bohemian Rhapsody” lacks a clear grasp on who Freddie Mercury was. Even though I mostly prefer Queen’s music to Elton John’s, I felt more emotionally invested in Taron Edgerton’s Elton John because the filmmakers focused on a key aspect of Elton’s personality during the timeframe that the film was set in, that he was still a lonely child who needed to be loved. To cut a long story short, the bold and daring “Rocketman” is far superior to the safe and unambitious “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

To summarise, “Bohemian Rhapsody” is a perfectly watchable and enjoyable film that sadly lacked a unique spark to separate it from the droves of other musical biopics. If you love Queen, you’d be better off listening to their Greatest Hits album again.