Bohemian Rhapsody

I was first introduced to the music of Queen thanks to the film "The Mighty Ducks". It was that same year, thanks also to "Wayne's World" and the recent death of Freddy Mercury, that popularity in the band was re-stimulated. It wasn't until my second cousins performed a spoof version of the song for their fellow cousin's wedding that I began to appreciate "Bohemian Rhapsody" (which will hereafter be referred to as "the title song" so as to not be confused with the film). As with the trailer for "Guardians of the Galaxy", the trailer for this show placed an old song on the current music popularity charts. In this case actually, three Queen songs were put back on the charts. After seeing the film itself in IMAX, it wasn't perfect and was rightfully rated PG-13 but the show ended very well. If you can pull off the perfect climax, you can raise the rating of any movie even though the majority of the film wasn't exactly what you were hoping for. I am always thankful for movies that honestly depict the dangers that come with success and power.

The best moments in the film were Live Aid and the creation of the title song. The depiction of the song being created in a barn seems to be inaccurate as the song was recorded at various studios. The conversation that the band has with Ray Foster in the movie represents what many, including Elton John, told Queen after hearing the song. The general reaction was that the band had lost their minds (ironically, Elton John would later perform the song alongside other music legends in a tribute concert to Mercury). The film depicts a simplified version of how the song was first played on the radio. In real life, Kenny Everett played clips of the song and pretended that it was an accident. It was only after his listeners demanded to hear the entire song that Everett "relented". It was then played 14 times over the course of only two days. The studio then was forced to release the single because of the demand to own the song. The intro of the song's promotional video is referenced in the movie and that is important because the promotional video contributed to the birth of the entire music video industry according to some. As is portrayed, the critics didn't get the song but the public did (history is repeating itself because the same can be said about this movie). The film did have some narrative structure problems because I think a framing device for example could have done some good. It had bookends but that really wasn't enough. It was hard to know if the focus of the film was on Freddy or the rising success of Queen. I sense that the filmmakers wanted Freddy's story as the movie's center but for me, the drama in Freddy's life overshadowed the subplot of the band's fame and I like that plotline better. Any cinematic representation of the life of Freddy Mercury must include his sexuality because that is a big part of who he was but I personally can't emotionally connect to that part of the movie as much as a rags-to-riches story. Another huge mistake was the use of MC Hammer's "U Can't Touch This" because that song wasn't released until 1990. That moment really distracted me and ruined the scene because I was taken out of the 1970's and 80's setting. On the other hand, the film has a clear antagonist and that was important. That character's greatest moment was in the limo in New York. I like how the band reconciles. They know they need each other and even after that meeting in Jim Beach's office, things aren't completely resolved on an emotional level. It is Freddy's revelation that begins that process. I also like how the film has Freddy reconcile with his family. The flaws in "Bohemian Rhapsody" do affect its overall enjoyment but you forgot a lot of that during the climax thankfully. Queen's performance at Live Aid was the perfect moment in the history of the band to conclude the movie. The band played alongside many other legendary acts that are listed in the office scene. Led Zeppelin reunited for the concert by the way and U2 sang a 14 minute-version of "Bad". Considering this, it is amazing that Queen could take the stage and bring about one of the most important moments in all of music history. "The Note Heard Round the World" is depicted quite powerfully and the whole sequence on the IMAX screen allowed you to appreciate the size of the crowd at Wembley and the bravado of the band's performance. Freddy's fellow band members are shown in awe of what he was doing on stage and this helps the audience understand why this is known as the greatest live performance in all of rock and roll. I love the shot of "the man who lost Queen" listening to the final song. You can't really call the film historically accurate. I have already pointed out a few inaccuracies and another is that the band wasn't broken up before Live Aid. However, some of the changes made to the true life story did allow from some rising action in the narrative and that is what the public responds to.

Maybe one reason why I had trouble fully enjoying this movie is because director Bryan Singer didn't finish the film. The reasons are still being debated as to why the man who made "X-men" left this project early but he made enough of "Bohemian Rhapsody" to be given full screen credit. The remaining original band members of Queen, Brian May and Roger Taylor, helped creatively on the film and were also musical consultants. I only knew Rami Malek from his first film role in the "Night at the Museum" franchise. I am impressed by his performance as Freddy Mercury. He seems to have understood the importance of the Life Aid scene because while his performance in the whole movie was good, he really shined in the climax and that was vital. I hope that Gwilym Lee gets more film roles because I liked him as Brian and I also appreciated Ben Hardy as Roger. Lee looks so much like Brian May by the way. When filming the scene where Brian records his guitar solo for the title song, the real Brian May stepped in and actually played the solo behind the camera during Malek's coverage in the booth. Hardy was in Singer's "X-men: Apocalypse" but he has a much better character to play in "Bohemian Rhapsody". I didn't know that Joseph Mazzello was going to be in "Bohemian Rhapsody" until the opening credits (he portrays bass player John Deacon). Mazzello was there when Facebook was created and many people may not know he was also there when we were welcomed to Jurassic Park. I am happy his adult acting career is going well. It wasn't until I was writing this that I finally saw the irony of Mike Myers' cameo. When his name showed up in the opening credits, it seemed obscure and I feel stupid about that now. I already knew beforehand what "Wayne's World" did for the title song in the 90's but in my defence (even though it might make me seem even more stupid), I have not seen that 1992 film. I was looking for Mike Myers throughout "Bohemian Rhapsody" and completely missed him so his costume & performance deserve some applause. Other names I recognized in the opening credits were Peter Morgan, who co-created the story, and editor John Ottman. Morgan's involvement also has some irony, as his breakout film was "The Queen" back in 2006. Ottman has worked on a lot of Singer's past works.

When the reviews for "Bohemian Rhapsody" began to come in, rottentomatoes.com listed the film as "rotten" with an approximate rating of 53%. When that happens, the rating will usually end up even lower as more reviews are submitted leading up the release of the film. The opposite happened in this case and in one week, the film went from "rotten" to the minimum rating to be considered "fresh" at 60%. It is now at 62% with a public rating of 90%. Just like "The Social Network" and "Ray", this movie shows the negative consequences that success can have. Money and power don't equate to true happiness and that is apparent by the end of this movie. I was pleasantly surprized when the show won Best Motion Picture Drama and Best Dramatic Actor (Malek) at the Golden Globes because especially these days, box office earnings don't equate to awards. Malek also won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor and so it wasn't a surprise when he won Oscar in the same catagory. It was cool that "Bohemian Rhapsody" won more Academy Awards than any other movie on Oscar night: Best Actor, Best Film Editing, Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing (I was hoping it would win for Best Film Editing and I predicted its win in the Sound Mixing catagory). The only catagory that the show was nominated in but didn't win was for Best Picture. The movie itself has its moments as I have illustrated but the flaws are still subconsciously retained in my mind to some extent unfortunately.

3.5 Stars out of 5