By JASON GUYER
iRate
We are the champions. Correction, Queen is the champion. Championing the box office this weekend was “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
“Bohemian Rhapsody” is crowd pleasing celebration of Queen. Just remember, “Bohemian Rhapsody” is a Queen movie, not a film just about their extraordinary lead singer Freddie Mercury. “Bohemian Rhapsody” is set up as a celebration of Queen the band.
Although it must be said, Freddie defied stereotypes and shattered convention, so it is hard to not think of Freddie Mercury when you hear Queen. Forever the showman and one of the most beloved entertainers on the planet: Freddie Mercury
“Bohemian Rhapsody” follows the band on its rise to rock legends and through the writing of their iconic songs and revolutionary sound. When Queen reaches unparalleled success Freddie, surrounded by darker influences, shuns Queen in pursuit of his solo career. Until he has to bravely face an AIDS diagnosis.
Then Freddie manages to reunite with his bandmates just in time for Live Aid. The singer leads the band in one of the greatest performances in the history of rock music.
“Bohemian Rhapsody” may seem like a biopic, it certainly is meant as one. There is just one major problem with “Bohemian Rhapsody” as a biopic. Nearly all of this film is untrue. How do you call something a biopic if it is untrue. Starting with the small things, like how the band met.
In the film Freddy goes to rock shows, basically looking to change the world as an artist, where he meets two of his band mates. Except in real life, Freddy already knew one of them as they went to college together. Sure, it is a small detail, and I am sure the film did it for dramatic effect. However, they also do it with very large moments as well.
Freddy’s battle with “darkness” is way over sold in “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Another, even bigger creative leap is Freddie’s homosexuality in “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Freddie Mercury was bi-sexual and preferred woman just as much as men.
Besides rewriting moments of the band and band members lives, “Bohemian Rhapsody” rewrites the historyof Queen. “Bohemian Rhapsody” actually changes the sequence of some events and the sequence of song releases. Like when they play “Fat Bottomed Girls” on there 1974 tour in the film, yet that song was not even written or put on an album until 1978.
“Bohemian Rhapsody” also amalgamates events. In “Bohemian Rhapsody” they write “We Will Rock You” during Freddie’s mustache stage of his career. That stage happened in 1980, “We Will Rock You” had been being played by Queen since 1977.
Personally, I do not enjoy when films call something a biopic, “Bohemian Rhapsody,” then take this many liberties with the story. At a certain point and when a certain number of liberties are taken the story changes. The simplest solution is to not call it a biopic and just release it as a film and not say anything about biopic at all. Among all these minor problems, there is a good film in “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
The reason is Rami Malek. Malek is extraordinary as Freddie Mercury. Malek, a character actor, jumps head first into becoming Freddie the character and accomplishes that feat. The mannerisms, the attitude, and the stage presence of Freddie Mercury are on display in “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Malek breathes life back into a person whose performances where full of life and without him “Bohemian Rhapsody” would not be a good film.
“Bohemian Rhapsody” hinders every part of the Queen story and even Malek’s performance as Freddie. The first half of the film feels like a music video of the Queen story rather than a film about them. It’s hard not to think this when there are about four montages just in the first hour of the film. Four. No film should have that many montages, ever.
There is one thing “Bohemian Rhapsody” gets right, Live Aid. The performance, not the story of it, as again they take creative liberties. The band was already playing concerts well before Live Aid and did no go to that concert with very little practice after a band break up as the film suggests. No, what “Bohemian Rhapsody” gets right is the Live Aid itself, the concert. “Bohemian Rhapsody” gives you nearly the full 20 minutes of Queen’s Live Aid performance. That is 20 minutes straight of all that are the best things about “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
Rami Malek playing and singing (sort of, as his voice is often mixed with Freddie’s) as Freddie Mercury, the band Queen in its entirety, and the uniqueness of Queens performances and relationship with the crowds. Doing justice to a performance that is widely regarded as one of the best rock performances ever. Playing to nearly 1.5 billion people across the world to benefit famine in Ethiopia, Queen crushed it. The best part, “Bohemian Rhapsody” recreates that broadcast and performance nearly shot for shot. You can actually compare Malek’s performance as Freddie to the real Live Aid performance of Freddie Mercury. And you realize the Malek is magic.
You leave the theater and realize Malek rocked you.
IRATE SCORE: 3.5/5
Jason Guyer is an avid moviegoer and works in the graphics department at the Eagle Times. For questions or comments he can be emailed at [email protected]
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