Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) review

In the pantheon of legendary rock groups, easily one of the most prominent is the quartet of vocalist Freddie Mercury, lead guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor, and bass guitarist John Deacon, AKA Queen. In the 70’s and 80’s, Queen produced some of the most iconic songs of all-time and partook in some of the most legendary performances in rock and roll history, with perhaps the most notable being their appearance at the Live Aid benefit concert in 1985. With all this in mind, you may be surprised to find that plans for a Queen biopic spent several years in development hell. For quite some time, comedian Sacha Baron Cohen was tapped to play Freddie Mercury. However, he ultimately backed out in 2013 due to creative differences, presumably due to a rewritten script that would’ve focused more on Queen following Mercury’s tragic death due to AIDS in 1991 along with fears from May and Taylor that his comedic background would cause too many distractions. Eventually, Rami Malek took over the part and Bryan Singer was set to direct in what would be his first big directorial effort after his long-time stint on the X-Men franchise. And yet, even the production of the film itself was plagued by some major issues, which ultimately escalated to the point where Singer was fired halfway through filming for various reasons that ranged from continual on-set tardiness to reportedly tense feuds with Malek. Director Dexter Fletcher (who ironically has his own musical biopic, the Elton John vehicle Rocketman, hitting theaters next May) was then brought on to finish the film, but Singer was ultimately given its sole directorial credit as it was already 2/3rds of the way done by the time that this scandalous switcheroo occurred. Thus, for all intent and purposes, Bohemian Rhapsody (named after arguably the band’s most iconic song) is still a Bryan Singer film, and while it may not do complete justice to Queen and its legendary front-man, it still manages to be a highly entertaining musical biopic with a phenomenal lead performance from Rami Malek.

Tired of his job as a baggage handler at Heathrow Airport in 1970, Farrokh Bulsara (Rami Malek) ends up finding a new job as the lead singer of an up-and-coming band named Smile alongside guitarist Brian May (Gwilym Lee) and drummer Roger Taylor (Ben Hardy) after the band’s original singer leaves to join another group. Together, along with fellow recruit/bass guitarist John Deacon (Joseph Mazzello), the band changes their name to Queen and Farrokh changes his legal name to ‘Freddie Mercury’ while also beginning a romance with Mary Austin (Lucy Boynton). And after they produce their titular debut album in 1973, the band manages to land a major contract deal with lauded manager John Reid (Aiden Gillen) at EMI Records. Unfortunately, the band begins to face some pushback when they attempt to be more experimental with their 1975 album A Night at the Opera. Despite managing to craft the six-minute operatic suite known as ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, EMI executive Ray Foster (Mike Myers) refuses to have it serve as the album’s first single due to its length. Undeterred, the band leaves EMI on their path to becoming one of the most popular music groups of the era. However, the band’s bond eventually begins to be put to the test, especially after Freddie shocks his bandmates with the announcement that he’s been signed for a solo career. And as for his personal life, that too begins to get quite rocky when he finds himself starting to question his sexuality.

Perhaps the biggest question surrounding this film is whether it manages to truly do justice to the story of Queen and, more importantly, Freddie Mercury. And overall, this has been a major source of contention amongst critics, many of whom have noted that there are several instances where the film isn’t exactly ‘historically accurate’ (e.g. how Freddie first met May and Taylor, the band’s status after Freddie went solo, etc.). With that in mind, it’s understandable if some feel that this isn’t as proper of a representation of this story as it could’ve been, as there are admittedly a few moments in the film where it doesn’t quite capture the emotional resonance that it’s trying to achieve. But despite its narrative shortcomings, the film manages to work a lot better in all its other areas. While there are a few instances where the film tends to drag a bit, it also boasts a pleasantly light-hearted nature throughout thanks to some solid comedic banter amongst Freddie and his bandmates. Now granted, I’m fully aware that this won’t fly well with everyone as many had hoped that the film would be a more risqué glimpse into the band’s history instead of what we ultimately get in this ‘watered down’ PG-13 rated film that’s more intent on being an all-around crowd-pleaser. But in that regard, it does succeed in what it’s trying to be thanks in large part to its rousing musical numbers that utilize the band’s classic tunes like ‘Another One Bites the Dust’, ‘We Will Rock You’, and of course, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ to great effect. And as many other critics have stated, the recreation of Queen’s iconic performance at Live Aid during the film’s finale is an undisputed highlight. To reiterate a point that I made a few weeks ago about Damien Chazelle’s First Man and its recreation of the iconic Apollo 11 mission, this film perfectly captures what it must’ve been like to witness a truly legendary musical performance for those like me who weren’t there to experience it firsthand. 

The challenge of playing someone as legendary as Freddie Mercury is undoubtedly a daunting task for anyone to attempt, but Rami Malek truly shines in the role, as he does a fantastic job when it comes to replicating Freddie’s eccentric mannerisms and his all-around charismatic persona. And while some were fearful that the film would underplay Freddie’s sexuality based on the first trailer, it ends up handling it in a manner that isn’t quite as problematic as they suspected but is still far from perfect nevertheless. While the first half of the film primarily focuses on Freddie’s relationship with Mary Austin up until their eventual breakup, the rest of the film does an okay enough job of showing Freddie’s bisexual side even though his other prominent lover, Jim Hutton (Aaron McCusker), is basically limited to a cameo role. But as for Mary, Lucy Boynton does a very nice job in the role; her chemistry with Malek is excellent and the film does a nice job of showcasing how, even after their breakup, the two continued to remain on good terms with each other. And while Freddie is obviously still the main protagonist throughout, Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy, and Joseph Mazzello are all excellent as Brian May, Roger Taylor, and John Deacon, respectively. Each of them gets to have their own standout moment here and there, from Roger’s frustration at having to do numerous takes of the ‘Galileo’ part of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ (“How many more Galileos do you want?”) to John coming up with the iconic riff for ‘Another One Bites the Dust’ during one of the band’s heated arguments. More importantly, these four very much succeed at conveying their group’s strong camaraderie.

Now despite all the positive things that I’ve just said, it really should be noted that if you’re a big fan of Queen, it’s quite possible that you might be a bit disappointed with this film as it’s far from being a pitch-perfect take on their history as seen through the eyes of their iconic ringleader. For starters, it’s not exactly the most historically accurate musical biopic ever made as it does take some major creative liberties with certain moments in Queen’s prestigious history. And while the film doesn’t completely ignore the fact that Freddie Mercury ended up becoming one of the most prominent icons of the LGBT community, it still could’ve handled this side of the story a lot better (e.g. giving Jim Hutton a more prominent role in its proceedings). Simply put, this is not the dark and edgy Queen biopic that a lot of their fans were hoping for. Instead, it’s more of a light-hearted crowd pleaser… but that’s not entirely a bad thing, for the record. The musical sequences in this film are phenomenal, highlighted by the epic finale that is Queen’s performance at Live Aid which is practically worth the price of admission alone. Rami Malek is purely electric in the role of Freddie and is backed by an equally excellent supporting cast. And despite the whole debacle that led to Dexter Fletcher being brought in to take over for Bryan Singer, the film thankfully never feels like the mismatched product of two different directors. In short, Bohemian Rhapsody is far from perfect, but it’s still a fun time to be had when viewed on the big screen with a crowd who’s ready and willing to tap their feet in time with the music.

Rating: 4/5