Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)

Whenever someone mentions the greatest musical bands of all time, names like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Who usually come to mind. However, there is one name that is easily recognizable even if no one has heard of the members at all: Queen. Founded by lead singer Freddie Mercury, lead guitarist Brian May, backup guitarist John Deacon and drummer Roger Taylor, Queen has become one of the most influential rock bands in all of music. Sadly, Freddie tragically passed away in 1991 due to complications of AIDS, yet the band still manages to be ever popular. While their music is amazing, especially in popular media, a movie about this band has been stuck in development hell for quite some time; until now, that is.

“Bohemian Rhapsody”, taken from Queen's most iconic song, showcases the formation of the band from humble beginnings, to one of their last concerts at Live Aid in 1985. But more importantly, this chronicles Freddie Mercury's life with the band, both physically and personally. Starring Rami Malek as Freddie, Gwilym Lee as Brian, Ben Hardy as Roger, and Joseph Mazzello as John, the film underwent numerous changes (mostly behind the scenes), and and came out with a rather unique finished product. The film does have a lot of entertaining value towards its production, but falters in a few areas.

In the area that the film succeeds is with the cast. Everyone, especially Malek, delivers a great performance. There's even a surprise role from Mike Myers, who is totally unrecognizable in this film. This holds true with the costumes, as they represent the attire that Queen (especially Freddie) wore during the 1970s and 1980s. The production design for “Bohemian Rhapsody” is also a big plus, as the team behind this movie did an outstanding job at recreating a lot of the sets and designs that Queen played.

In fact, there is a lot of energy coming from within this film. Every performance stands out, and of course, the music is absolutely fantastic. After all, this is Queen we're talking about; the music is always a plus.

That is pretty much where all of the compliments end.

While the film is good, no doubt about that, that doesn't mean it is without its fair share of problems.

While the story is a fixation on Queen's success up until Live Aid, the film does not have a consistent pace. Running at approximately two hours and fifteen minutes, the film does what it needs to do: tell the story of Freddie Mercury and Queen. However, it seems as if the editor or the screenwriter, Anthony McCarten, pushed the “skip” button on Queen's life. We jump from one segment of their career to another in a rather quick time frame.

Now, let's talk about the whole director controversy that blew up while the film was in production.

Bryan Singer is credited as the main director of this film. However, due to complications with the cast and the studio, Singer was fired from the project, and was replaced with Dexter Fletcher, who serves as executive producer. The result? It's a mixed bag. On the one hand, Singer's direction is good: the action is fast, and plays out like an intense drum beat. On the the other hand, with Fletcher, the movie has more time to deliver good performances and fleshed out characters. The end result feels muddled, and one can honestly tell that it almost feels like two different projects colliding colliding together trying to ultimately create something.

“Bohemian Rhapsody” feels like the Freddie Mercury/Queen biopic that we wanted, but almost ends up being a bad recording or a bootleg being handed off. It makes you wonder: is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?