Bohemian Rhapsody review by Bobby Blakey
There are a lot of iconic bands out there, but there are few that have had a musical ongoing impact as Queen. Their songs have cross over into sporting events, movies and become anthems for people’s lives. It’s surprising that there hasn’t been a film about them already, but that is about to change with the feature film Bohemian Rhapsody starring Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy, Joseph Mazzello, Aiden Gillen, Tom Hollander, and Mike Myers. Could this film do the legendary band’s story justice or will it fail to rock you?
Bohemian Rhapsody is a foot-stomping celebration of Queen, their music and their extraordinary lead singer Freddie Mercury, who defied stereotypes and shattered convention to become one of the most beloved entertainers on the planet. The film traces the meteoric rise of the band through their iconic songs and revolutionary sound, their near-implosion as Mercury's lifestyle spirals out of control, and their triumphant reunion on the eve of Live Aid, where Mercury, facing a life-threatening illness, leads the band in one of the greatest performances in the history of rock music. In the process, cementing the legacy of a band that were always more like a family, and who continue to inspire outsiders, dreamers and music lovers to this day. I must admit that seeing that they did a PG-13 for this story had me a bit set off as though it wouldn’t be able to capture the story completely, but I was very wrong.
From the opening moments to the film you are reminded to how influential Queen has been to music before getting into their rise playing alongside Mercury’s own story and struggles. I loved this film and its overall structure and star Rami Malek is insanely good here. He is all on with this role from his famed overbite to the crazed outfits and the brilliant music which in itself becomes a character of the film. Malek has gone all in and seemed to capture every nuance of Mercury right down to the movements on stage. The rest of
the cast did a fine job as well, but make no mistake this is Malek’s show and he is brilliant. Much like his real privacy they handled the question of Mercury’s sexuality the same way. They didn’t sugar coat anything, but instead keep it very obvious while taking a more subtle approach to it all. The same goes for most of the drug or alcohol use. Instead it played things much more the way Mercury played it through his short years bringing fans iconic music.
The ongoing soundtrack will no doubt have you clapping your hands and stomping your feet from beginning to end in the best way possible. The way they interweave the songs into the story in both performance and storytelling worked perfect for me. One of the best moments for me was how they shot and pieced together the moment they put together “We Will Rock You” with a simple yet important discussion of the reasoning of doing it capped with Mercruy asking a simple question before it segues into the performances. Everything in this movie leads to what is considered one of if not the greatest rock performance of all time with Queen at Live Aid which is shot to perfection.
For those worried that a PG-13 rating wouldn’t be able to go far enough to do Mercury or Queen’s story justice will be pleasantly surprised. Like many I love the music of Queen and getting to revisit it along with their story was a great experience. I cannot wait to check it out again recommend seeing it on the biggest and loudest sound system you can to get the full effect of them truly being the champions of the world.
This release not only includes the film but rockin’ bonus content including featurettes on how they brought this film to life including the complete Live Aid Movie Performance Not Seen in Theaters (featured in 4K Ultra HD™ HDR on the 4K Ultra HD™ Disc). Prepare to be rocked with Bohemian Rhapsody available now on Digital and Movies anywhere and then on 4K Ultra, Blu-ray and DVD on February 12th from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.
