Review of Rocketman (2019) by Greatmartin — 30 May 2019

Magic! Whimsy? Reality? Fantasy? Truth? "Rocketman" is all that plus more with a screenplay by Lee Hall, direction by Dexter Fletcher, director of photography George Richmond, not to forget the costumes by Julian Day as they reach into the life of Elton John with a not to be forgotten performance by Taron Egerton as the star.

Opening up so soon after the massive success of "Bohemian Rhapsody" this movie has to do a lot of business to match it financially though the bottom line is "Rocketman" is a much better movie showing who the man is including all the bad out front and not being shy either about his addictions or his Gay life. At the very beginning we see Elton in a massive devil's outfit invading a rehab center and talking about his coke, crack, sex, shopping weed, alcohol among various addictions plus his bulimia and anger issues. It is at this point the fantasy musical numbers start along with his life before he became famous and the years that established him as a star up until he makes the decision to stop the drugs and booze.

Targon Egerton is stellar as John Elton using his own voice to sing the Elton/Taupin songs without imitating the former. He goes through a heart attack, an attempted suicide (fantasy or truth?), loving people without the love being returned. He has a mother who tells him she wishes he had never been born, that because he was gay he would never be loved, a father who never hugs him and one day just leaves and never comes back, a lover/manager who doesn't love him, cheats on him and his feeling that he doesn't deserve to be loved. Matthew Illesley does a fine job as the child Reginald Dwight as does Kit Connor as the teenager Reginald, both to become the Elton John who is in so much pain as a young man.

The one man who loves Elton John is his working partner, Bernie Taupin the man who wrote the words and still does and they both claim not to have had an argument in those 50 years, is not gay. He is played by Jamie Bell who deserves as much recognition as Egerton does. A third person who gives an explosive performance is Richard Madden as a self-serving manager and lover who betrays John in many ways.

Playing his mother Bryce Dallas Howard comes over as too stereotyped in some of the scenes and Steven Macintosh as the cold father who doesn't love his son coveys that cold man while Gemma Jones as his grandmother comes across as the only adult who loves and believes in this child.

There are several supporting actors who deliver the goods but it is Targon Egerton the whole movie revolves around and whose performance makes the "Rocketman" an outstanding movie. While there may be one too many fantasy song and dance numbers slowing the movie down the very effective ending will touch you just as it touched many in the audience today to applaud the movie.