Bohemian Rhapsody

Singer mechanically cycles through human dramas, studies, and live performances that in parts are brimming with energy, oozing from all sides - from the excellent actors, through the camera and editing, to the last precisely-aimed spotlight. Otherwise, the 130 minutes slip by like a missed chance to go beyond the edge of a slick biopic that suits the screen. But the fact that the audience, regardless of age and musical taste, sits down to watch it in droves means above all that the effort to please absolutely everyone has succeeded perfectly. However, if it wasn’t for the brilliant music (and I say this as someone who is not that fond of it), it's a seasonal dud. Fortunately, it's about the music, and I won't hide the fact that it moved me. (12/09/2018)

The story of one of the greatest bands of all time, Queen, and its charismatic lead singer Freddie Mercury, is conceived as a grand celebration of their music, energy and camaraderie rather than a classic biopic. Instead of private information, dying of AIDS or escalating conflicts between the protagonists, there are concerts, singing and the film tries to entertain above all. Fans will probably appreciate this, but if you go to the cinema expecting to learn more or get any significant insight into Mercury's private life, you'll probably leave disappointed. (11/01/2018)

Yeah, it was alright. While Bohemian Rhapsody is at first glance the prototypical film that misses me by a thousand miles (a musical, a biopic gay drama) is a bit of the opposite of my favorite (horror, action, thriller), but oddly enough I saw the film and I’m alive and well. Rami Malek overacts a bit too much for my taste, but he and Freddie are very similar in appearance and he doesn't do a shameful job for a second-rate actor. Story-wise, there's not much of interest and the only strong moment comes in the final performance at Wembley, which is definitely good. I certainly won't see it again, but I was expecting suffering and in the end I got a fairly watchable film. 60%. (03/18/2019)

The celebration of a legend, sunny, full of breathtaking energy and musical highlights. Some of the passages are unnecessarily cinematic, not improvisational enough and quite for effect. Here is where the spontaneous A Star is Born wins. This is reminiscent of 2013, when the two best films of the year, Gravity and Rush, stood side by side and each had a slightly different fan base. Both were great films, but while Rush was a true-to-life story, graspable by any spectrum of audiences, Gravity wanted a more ambitious recipient who was willing to "put in the work" to be rewarded. The same thing happens here, and in films that are very similar in genre. Bohemian Rhapsody is the more challenging sibling, A Star is Born is a gentle American love story, but it manages to work better with emotions. And unlike Rhapsody, you'll take away a bit more from the cinema than just a polished musical component and an interesting depiction of a typically internally torn weirdo artist. (11/18/2018)

No one in the world can accuse me of not being a fan, because there probably isn’t another band in my life that I was into as much as Queen. I didn't listen to anything else for a few years. I absorbed the songs, lyrics, concerts, and I read the biographies. That's probably why Bohemian Rhapsody seems like very lazy history research to me, and it was also very much castrated by the living members of the band. All that remains is the flimsy story of a naughty child and a trio of his dads who try to protect him from evil in the form of a disgusting version of Tom of Finland and his party of gay friends in leather. It was supposed to be a portrait of deep solitude, but it is just a superficial and poorly-motivated collection of weakly told stories. All in all, I can deal with the fact that the film dismisses everything dark (sexuality, drugs) in almost a puritanical vein, if it at least offered more than sitcom figures and a lot of awkwardly arranged scenes (will anyone really be satisfied with a theatrically lit and Highlander song tinted scene from the AIDS center in 2018? Obviously they will...). The film is kept above water by excellent editing and also the fact that it has a rhythm typical for this type of genre. At Live Aid, you can feel that Singer quite enjoyed it. In some scenes, I had the feeling that the director was either sleeping or didn't arrive. The paradox is that a perfect product was created because of all those blind spots. He gives people a genius without everything that was outrageous about him and preserves Queen’s pathetic halo of stadium entertainers. Only Roger was a bit of a naughty womanizer. But you know how it is with those guys... (11/09/2018)