Rocketman

I wish Rocketman had been as well attended as Bohemian Rhapsody, because it's actually just as great – despite how different the two films are. However, I don't think Elton John has the same fan base here. But about the film – Elton is in rehab, addicted to just about everything he can be, and reminiscing. Or rather, "reminiscing". After all, his life is a string of amazing musical numbers. Colorful, exuberant, loud, but with plenty of room for silence, stuffiness, and gloom. And his hits have been given a new coat of paint in exactly that vein (for example, when Indian dancers appear in the scene with Saturday Night's Alright, Indian musical instruments are heard, and in other scenes the otherwise driving hits have become downright ballads thanks to the intimate delivery). It's all very imaginatively filmed – what the concert scenes and Live Aid finale are to Bohemian Rhapsody, the musical numbers are to Rocketman, but they're not just about entertainment, they're also about emotion, because... because the actors who do it all are perfect, and that finally brings me to Taron Egerton. If there's one thing I like more than last year's Bohemian Rhapsody, it's definitely his performance. The admirable transformation, the singing talent, the ability to smile and yet make it clear that he's not really into laughing at all. Hats off to him, it's great and completely unforgettable. (05/30/2019)

Finally a music biopic that’s not afraid to playfully and creatively use the possibilities of the media, without unnecessarily tying its hands with what most viewers want and expect. And that’s why it’s not just a lazy, slavishly unimaginative farce like that overrated music biopic from last year 😇 So I'm a rocketman! (05/30/2019)

Rocketman doesn’t have much to say. That a sensitive artist becomes addicted to alcohol and drugs because of a difficult childhood without the love of his parents is a week premise, even if it’s about a real-life pop star. It’s a story that’s probably similar to every other like it. And since I don’t like any of Elton’s songs, which don’t stir any emotion in me, and I find his costumes to be overly pretentious and even self-parodying, I can only appreciate Rocketman’s great filmmaking style and hardworking actors. (06/08/2020)

A musical biopic or a musical? Rocketman wants to be both, and tries to present Elton John's life story as a film that deals with his addictions and traumas, but also has people dancing in the middle of the street. It's nice to look at, but it doesn't quite fit together and the really dramatic scenes in particular don't work very well because there simply isn't enough time for the film to properly sell them. But it looks very nice and sounds even better. It just skims the surface and wants to entertain above all else. Of course, I won't say it's bad, but I would have liked a bit more. (05/29/2019)

An incredibly smart and cleverly styled almost-musical that presents the extravagant figure of Elton John through his colourfulness and creative musical set-pieces. The retrospective narration from a rehab centre is not a very original frame, but everything is well held together and Elton’s increasingly open confession provides the viewer with a complex picture that is fully celebratory in the end, naturally, but one that is 100% believable, unlike Mercury’s portrait in Bohemian Rhapsody. Rocketman might not be exceptional craftsmanship, but it manages to sensitively and believably balance complex motifs like homosexuality, family mistrust and the hardships of stardom, without making the audience feel they’re being led by the nose. And it’s also distinctive filmmaking, which is good. And Egerton is really good. 80% (04/04/2020)