Coming a long way since their first album, Queen, the band’s story makes its move to the big screen. Although Queen has rocked fans for generations, will the film hold true with fans years later?
The 2018 film Bohemian Rhapsody follows the creation of the hit British rock band Queen, and their rise to stardom. The film dives into the life of lead singer Freddie Mercury as well as the rest of the band including Brian May, Roger Taylor, and John Deacon. The story opens right when Mercury joins the band and quickly thrusts the group into the spotlight. Some critics believe the turn around for this is a little too fast and I can understand their point. It seems a little rushed to have the band go from sitting on the side of the road to performing early hits like Killer Queen on tour in the next scene. However, these things are all up to how the viewer looks at the film and are really just minor issues.
The film hit theaters on November 2, and racked up a solid $51,061,119 in its opening weekend. While at first glance it seems like no surprise that a Queen film would do so well, However many don’t realize the film went through changes at the director position. Filming started with Bryan Singer at the director but toward the end of the production he was fired. Singer’s replacement would be Dexter Fletcher who would finish the rest of the filming before the final cut. Although it took two directors to finish the final product, Bryan Singer’s name appeared on the final credits.
Rami Malek takes on the difficult task on playing the complicated character of Freddie Mercury. It is clear that Malek did his homework and did a great job bringing the outspoken personality and funky movement of Mercury back to life. Malek did not shy away from the challenge and put together an amazing performance of the rock legend.
Final Thoughts
Overall I was very much impressed with Bohemian Rhapsody and what it contributed to film and music community. As an already big fan of Queen’s music I was more than happy to learn more about their story. I believe Rami Malek as well as the rest of the cast portrayed their characters well and helped to create a real engaging story. I recommend the film to any Queen fan out there, or just fans of good rock music. While one should keep in mind that younger kids may not understand or truly appreciate all the story has to tell, Bohemian Rhapsody is one families will enjoy for years to come.
