{"id":42077,"date":"2018-11-09T14:30:39","date_gmt":"2018-11-09T20:30:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=42077"},"modified":"2018-11-09T13:44:47","modified_gmt":"2018-11-09T19:44:47","slug":"review-bohemian-rhapsody-review-it-will-rock-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=42077","title":{"rendered":"REVIEW: \u201cBohemian Rhapsody\u201d Review: It Will Rock You!"},"content":{"rendered":"

STORY BY LEXI GROSS<\/span><\/p>\n

On November 2nd, one of the more highly anticipated movies of the season hit theaters. \u201cBohemian Rhapsody\u201d opened in 4,000 ceinemas across the U.S. and within its first weekend, has already rocked the box office as it hit $50 million. Despite mixed critical reviews, fans have given it a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBohemian Rhapsody\u201d has been considered a foot stomping celebration of the rock n\u2019 roll band, Queen, their music, and their extraordinary lead singer and frontman, Freddie Mercury. This film shows us the story of Queen\u2019s music and rise to success along with the story of Mercury — who struggled with his fame as well as questioning his sexuality. If you are a Queen fan (like myself), then this was the must-see movie of the weekend. <\/span><\/p>\n

Directed by Brian Singer, this biopic stars Rami Malek as Mercury along with cast members like Ben Hardy as Roger Taylor, \u00a0Gwilym Lee as Brain May, and Lucy Boynton as Mary Austin. This film hits a number of high notes as well as a few average ones. <\/span><\/p>\n

If there is one thing that this film did perfectly, it is the casting. The film opens with Malek as the troubled, yet flamboyant Mercury, sashaying his way onto Wembley Stadium. Malek gave a brilliant performance at mimicking Mercury\u2019s style yet maintaining room for the character to grow. Not only does Malek look the part but he performs with the real Mercury confidence. <\/span><\/p>\n

Onstage, Malek is outstanding and mesmerizing. Offstage, he mixes in his contrasting vulnerability as the character struggles to understand his sexuality. His character is filled with heart during the darker moments but it is Malek\u2019s performance that drives the film. \u00a0I predict we see Malek winning a few awards for this role.<\/span><\/p>\n

I do believe the casting was spot on not only with Malek but as well with bandmates like Ben Hardy as Roger Taylor, Gwilym Lee as Brian May, and Joe Mazzello as John Deacon. They are so visually accurate it feels as if you were watching a documentary. Their musical performances were also outstanding but the first downfall to this film is there really is no character development for the bandmates. They don\u2019t get a lot of time to establish themselves as the film is more focused on Mercury\u2019s story. I understand that Mercury had an extraordinary story meant for the big screen, but if producers, writers, and everyone else is going to call \u201cBohemian Rhapsody\u201d a movie celebrating Queen and <\/span>their <\/span><\/i>story, then we should also shine the spotlight on the rest of the members of Queen every once in a while. <\/span><\/p>\n

Another hit with this movie was the celebration of Queen\u2019s music. I considered the energy to this film to have a concert-like feel. Without a doubt, the reason \u201cBohemian Rhapsody\u201d soared to the top of the box office charts is because of the use of Queen\u2019s music in the marketing. What Queen fan wouldn\u2019t want to hear their biggest hits played through those cinema speakers? It\u2019s hard to resist their universal sound. <\/span><\/p>\n

What is beautiful in this film is it addresses how these songs were written for the first time and the geniuses behind the songs. Queen is the only band where every member wrote a Number One Single and that\u2019s something people take for granted when they hear their songs. The band\u2019s music remains popular throughout generations because of how they defied standards and crossed all kinds of genres and styles.This gives Queen longevity which makes for a great reason to bring them to theaters.<\/span><\/p>\n

By far, the most electrifying scenes were the recording of the title song and the performance at the 1985 Live Aid concert. These two moments in history are what some would consider putting Queen on the map. Their performance at Live Aid has gone down in history as one of the best live performances of all time. That puts a lot of pressure on the cast and crew to live up to its standard especially since they made it the finale of the film. <\/span><\/p>\n

But I know I wasn\u2019t the only one dancing out of the theater after that triumphant performance. Malek was amazing at mimicking Mercury\u2019s exact moves at Wembley Stadium. Again, it was like watching an actual live recording. It brought justice to the actual performance of Queen. <\/span><\/p>\n

As mentioned before, there were a few average notes to this film. Not only was this movie about the rise of Queen but about Freddie Mercury\u2019s story and struggle with his sexuality. Some critics considered that when it came to Freddie\u2019s gay life style, they were playing it too safe. The film doesn\u2019t examine the intricacies of Mercury\u2019s homosexuality and messy relationships especially with his personal manager, Paul Prenter played by Allen Leech. As a Queen fan, I know that Mercury had a difficult time struggling with his identity as a gay man and yes, there were some parts that didn\u2019t really show his struggle with his sexuality but instead focused on the stuggle with his fame. <\/span><\/p>\n

Some critics disliked how their approach to Mercury\u2019s diagnosis of AIDS, again, felt that it was presented too safe. I personally thought it was rather intriguing how it was brought about. Mercury was diagnosed with AIDs in 1987 but it wasn\u2019t until the day before his death in 1991 that he came out to the public that he contracted the disease. It is present in the film when Freddie is struggling with the illness and when he is aware about it before he is tested. The character never mentions it though until there\u2019s about thirty minutes left in the film and he only brings it up with his bandmates. <\/span><\/p>\n

I just see the film\u2019s lack of presentation and story with Mercury\u2019s illness is just how it truly was with the last few years of his life. He wanted it to be a private part of his life and to not have it stray away from Queen\u2019s music which was what he really cared about. It would\u2019ve added to his story to see more in depth of his struggle with his sexuality and disease but Freddie didn\u2019t feel that was important to the public, just his music and message was what mattered.<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, not every audience member would recognize the few history mistakes made in the film but every die-hard Queen fan would. For example, Queen sings their hit \u201cFat Bottomed Girls\u201d on their 1974 North America tour when actually, this song wasn\u2019t made until 1978 featured on their \u201cJazz\u201d album. Another mistake made in the film was that before their performance at Live Aid in 1985, Freddie tells his bandmates that he has been diagnosed with AIDs. But in reality, Freddie wasn\u2019t diagnosed until two years later in 1987. Not every fan in the theater might recognize these mistakes but if you\u2019re going to make a biopic celebrating a band\u2019s success and their lead singer\u2019s story, you might want to be historically accurate. However, I felt this movie had more ups with their music, characters, and celebration that it is willing to be overlooked. <\/span><\/p>\n

I would rate this movie eight out of ten stars. Although it drags in Mercury\u2019s personal life style and had some inaccuracies, it truly brought justice to the triumphant music of Queen and left audiences wanting to hear more. \u201cBohemian Rhapsody\u201d sure left its mark in theaters but others say it won\u2019t be in the spotlight much longer as other releases begin to make their way in. However, it is a film that is worth remembering and celebrating throughout time because Queen and Freddie Mercury will be musicians that never grow old. <\/span><\/p>\n

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