Rocketman

A unique biopic about the behind the stage life of Reginald Dwight (Elton John) that we have never and may never see anything like it ever again - 8/10

by Jad Sammour

First off, I am not a fan of biopics. The only reason I watched the film was because I’m a huge fan of Elton John, so I wasn’t really enjoying the film. Setting aside my expectations, Rocketman is a solid take-off and landing.

Onto the details:
-The performances were exquisite. Taron Egerton nailed it as Elton John and Kit Connor (child Elton) and Sebastian Rich too (teenage Elton). Richard Madden was amazing and delivered a solid performance. Jamie Bell was also great. I was amazed by Bryce Dallas Howard’s performance: i loved her character and her acting. The secondary cast was also great.
-The score was phenomenal and I loved how they integrated tunes from Elton’s music into it.
-Elton’s songs weren’t used like Queen’s in Bohemian Rhapsody. They were used to tell his life: the lyrics were used as a sort of narration or dialogue and it was very emotional at points.
-The film relies heavily on imagery and symbolism to tell many of the details.
-The cinematography and the look of the film were good
-The CGI was bad when used and felt very animated and basic.
-The music interludes were a lot of fun.
-The film focuses on the story of Reginald Dwight not his Elton John persona: only a few minutes were used to reinact concerts and show his performance during them. The heavy focus was on the man himself and his struggles with drug abuse, alcoholism, love life, sexuality, family issues and his personality. So the film dives deep into his mind and his personal life.

Dexter Fletcher (the director) was superb at directing the film.

I will still give this film a great score because it’s really good and amazingly executed and I’m sure I’ll love it more when i see it a second time.

Rocketman stands out as a unique motion picture that we have never and may never see anything like it.

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