Review of Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) by Allen L — 05 Nov 2018

There is no Rami Malek.

There is only Freddie Mercury.

His performance is remarkable. It's not an interpretation, it's not a parody, it's a complete transformation.

The movie is a multi-million dollar Behind the Music episode.

And, if you are a real fan, you might find yourself screaming at the incongruous anachronisms. (They couldn't have toured THAT song because they wouldn't write THAT song for another 5 years!!!!).

And the first half of the movie feels like a trailer for ANOTHER, longer, better movie.

But the Live Aid performance is ridiculous and yes, I started to cry. I don't know who this movie is for, because fans will note all the mistakes but the performances are terrific. Especially, weirdly, the John Deacon character, who just sort of floats through the whole movie as we imagined he floated through the band.

Freddie Mercury was a lonely person who came alive when he was performing. Could only connect when he was connecting to thousands. The movie captures all of that and more.

Once again Queen, as they've done for decades, proves that critics don't know what they are talking about. Look at the critic-audience ratio.

This movie is terrific.