Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)

Queen Killer

A couple of years ago, I sat in a screening of "Straight Outta Compton". It was a serviceable biopic about the groundbreaking rap group, N.W.A., and I had this sinking feeling that now deceased member, Eazy E, was getting hosed. Ice Cube and Dr. Dre came off looking like savvy business men who might have kept the group together if it wasn't for the wild antics of the easily duped Eric Wright. I got the exact same feeling watching "Bohemian Rhapsody".

Based on the more popular years of Queen's existence, "Rhapsody" plays as the soap opera version of what I am sure is a far more interesting story. It is overly melodramatic drivel that never feels like a cohesive story, and only serves to trample the memory of the band's deceased frontman, Freddie Mercury. I am not sure how much of Rami Malek's performance is left on the cutting room floor, but his Mercury is a caricature that moves from one massive diva fit to the next.

The band themselves don't function as real characters. Brian May and Roger Taylor are introduced haphazardly with throw away lines, and John Deacon is just thrown into the band with little fanfare. They stand aside and chastise Freddie for his wild lifestyle, and squabble over what songs go on the records, with little to no character development given to any of them.

Until the last 20 minutes, when they launch into Queen's legendary Live Aid performance, the film is cloying, awful, and completely uninteresting to watch. Rami Malek does a fine enough job, but he never elevates above doing an impression of Mercury. Very few other actors get enough screen time to enjoy anything they do. The ones you do get to spend a little time with are given such hammy dialogue that it is hard to care about them as characters. The pacing is entirely too rushed, so no certain era is given time to breathe. Also, I get that the name of the movie is "Bohemian Rhapsody", and it is a masterpiece of a song, but the entire plot seems to revolve around the idea that this was the epitome of Queen as a band. Which sucks. But that is what this film does best: Suck.

Grade: F

Starring Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee
Director: Bryan Singer
Writer(s): Anthony McCarten - Story: McCarten and Peter Morgan
Running Time: 134min
Rating: PG-13 for thematic elements, suggestive material, drug content and language