Steve's Movie Review

Bohemian Rhapsody – The Reel Life or Just Fantasy? From the opening strains of the 21st Century Fox Fanfare, performed with dynamic flair and composed by Queen members Brian May on guitar and Roger Taylor on drums, the 2 hour and 14 minute production flew by and left me hoping for an encore when the credits began to roll. The film takes the viewer on the band Queen’s journey from its formation from the pre-Queen band Smile to their epic appearance at Live Aid. Along the way we learn about Freddie’s personal life and his relationship with the “love of his life” Mary Austin. There are scenes with Freddie’s mother, father and sister which shed some light on how his family life impacted his desire to be a musical superstar. The relationships between the band members are very interesting as is the behind-the-scenes look we get at how some of their greatest songs were created. The film has come under criticism for taking liberties with timelines, introducing characters that are completely fictional and other inaccuracies. As a huge Queen fan who has read many books and seen many documentaries on the band, these inconsistencies bothered me a little but didn’t take away from the impressive acting, entertaining story and of course, the music. Queen’s music is showcased during the film (Queen guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor served as creative and musical consultants on the film) and it sounds better than ever. Rami Malek completely transforms himself as Freddie. He has every move down pat, on stage and off. Gwilym Lee is uncanny as Brian May. He accurately adopts all of May’s mannerisms and is so good with his voice that Brian’s May’s children thought their father did voice overs for all of Lee’s dialogue. The rest of the cast is very solid, and Mike Myers even makes an appearance as a record executive who states that no teenager will ever bang his/her head to Bohemian Rhapsody (the Mike Myers in Wayne’s World would beg to differ!). All-in-all, Bohemian Rhapsody is a very entertaining film and borders on a full-blown concert experience. The Live Aid scene at the end of the film is spectacularly powerful and captures the excitement and energy of the original performance leaving you hoping for an encore.