Review of Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) by Ashiakatamaki — 02 Nov 2018

Wanted to take this opportunity to express some of the backlash and negativity from those who dislike this film. Opinions will be opinions, and reading through some critics' reviews, I can certainly see their point sometimes,.

But the film literally ends with a song about having a good time. If the audience was entertained, so what if you didn't get the rated-R Queen story you wanted? So what if Freddie Mercury wasn't played by Sacha Baron Cohen? So what if the filmmakers made artistic changes? Will the audience even care? Isn't film supposed to entertain?

Pushing all the film's production issues aside, it can't be understated how much of a feel-good movie this really is. From what I can see, repeat watches will be immensely entertaining.

All the acting here is on point. As you've no doubt heard already Rami Malek gives the film his all as Freddie Mercury. He is the heart and soul of this movie and it wouldn't work without his electrifying performance. It's the little things that define his Mercury: the little facial tics, cracked smiles and so on. He's definitely a shoe-in for that Best Actor.

I was also very impressed by Gwilym Lee as Brian May and Ben Hardy as Roger Taylor. The two of them are great foils to Malek's Mercury and both embody their real-life selves so well.

As for filmmaking, I have one or two small gripes here and there. The editing was choppy at times, (during dialogue scenes) cutting away abruptly after someone has finished his/her lines; to my knowledge it happened twice or thrice. The camerawork is spectacular, lots of close-ups, puts you in the moment. The CGI isn't anything specialbut it gets the job done.

Overall, I really loved Bohemian Rhapsody. The last 30 minutes really did encapsulate the audience in experiencing Queen and Freddie Mercury; and it's been some time since my friends and I left the cinema feeling this good.