This is the first film in a very long time I have seen where the entire screen has been full, and this really does give a whole new experience to a film in a positive way. The mob mentality kicks in and when you can sense everyone round you enjoying yourselves and laughing you can't help but join in. This is what happened when I went to see Bohemian Rhapsody (2018). As I sat there and watched I felt sucked in a thoroughly entertained. I felt the same way shortly after I had left the cinema. But the more I thought about it I realised that there were big problems I had with the film that the experience of the full audience had glossed over originally, and as I sit here now and right this I realise that I might not like the film as much as I had originally thought. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed the film quite a bit, but I don't think I like it as much as I originally thought. The story follows the legendary band Queen from their inception in the early 1970s all the way to their famous Live Aid show in 1985. It shows the highs and lows, the ups and downs and the creative process that went into many of their most famous songs, with the main focus of the film being on lead singer Freddie Mercury (Rami Malek) and how his life changed during this period of time.
The main positives of the film come in the performances which across the board are all pretty great but are especially good performances from the actors playing the members of the band. Ben Hardy as Roger Taylor, Joseph Mazzello as John Deacon and Gwilym Lee as Brain May all put in really good performances and it is the scenes in where all these actors are together making music where the film really shined for me, especially when you throw Rami Malek in there as Freddie Mercury. The chemistry they all share is great and there is a real sense of comradery and love there which does make the more emotional scenes later on in the film have more weight to them. But the real show stealer is Malek with his portrayal of Mercury. I think his performance was absolutely stellar and he absolutely stole every scene he was in. You couldn't keep your eyes off him, and for someone portraying one of the most charismatic performers of all time there is nothing as important as that. I was very, very impressed by his performance. As for positives in the filmmaking, it is a film that does have some really stylish shots and scenes, but the most impressive detail is in the final Live Aid performance. I say this after having just watched the actual Live Aid performance and my God the detail the filmmakers put into recreating that is fantastic. Literally if you see this film watch the actual performance just after and take a note of the lager and Pepsi cups on the piano and you'll see exactly what I mean.
However, as I mentioned in my introduction the film isn't all good. The main problem with the film is the scope of it is far too ambitious to fit into its run time. Going from 1970 to 1985 and attempting to tell a compelling and flowing narrative was always going to be difficult, and the film doesn't exactly pull out off in my book with many moments seemingly brushed over and rushed. The main problem with this is that other moments in the narrative that are not as interesting as the ones they gloss over are given far too much time and attention, mainly the narrative arc with Freddie and Mary Austin (Lucy Boynton). This may very well just be a me problem, but I didn't find that whole side to the story particularly compelling, and always found myself wanting to return to the band and those scenes as they were the moments of the film that I really enjoyed. The other problem is in the style of the film. I know earlier I said that there are scenes and moments in the film with really great visual style, but that is only really when you take those scenes in a vacuum. The style of the film is very flippant and seems to be wrestling with itself throughout. However, these moments are outweighed mainly through the quality and entertainment factor of the musical scenes and the songs themselves. These scenes made me very jealous of anyone who was able to see a Queen show live as I feel that they would have been amazing shows to see, and the film does a good job at getting this across.
This film is going to make a lot of money, and I think that most audiences are going to really, really enjoy it. Unfortunately, I have payed to get a degree in Film Studies and so I see problems in films that many other viewers may not see (humble brag). But even putting that aside, I cannot deny that I was entertained by this film, even going so far as to say thoroughly entertained by the scenes where we see Queen being Queen. Writing and creating music in cool and creative ways. It has its problems as most films do, but it would be very hard for me to not recommend it as I really enjoyed my time with the film when I was watching it at the cinema. So that is where I would recommend you see this film, in the cinema. I feel like you would have a much better time with this film on the big screen in a packed screen with an audience who is buying in to the film than you would if you see this film on your own at home. Although if you did see this at home you could belt out all the songs which I was struggling not to do as I watched the film.