4.5/5
Reviewed November 13, 2018
Powerful, emotional musical biopic about Freddie Mercury and Queen, featuring an Oscar-worthy performance by Remi Malek as Mercury, a soundtrack that will have you dancing along, and an INCREDIBLE amount of sass. It is pretty procedural, as far as these kinds of films go (event happens, music tied to that event to elicit emotion, rock star highs and lows), but it didn’t matter. A few non-spoiler notes though (packing for a trip, don’t have time to go into depth tonight): I don’t feel comfortable getting into depth on Mercury’s sexuality – which seemed to be portrayed well enough – I just don’t know enough to get nuanced. The editing and technical work seemed rather sloppy, like a hack job. There were some significant developmental issues with the film (switching directors from Bryan Singer to an uncredited guy), but it felt sloppy. The CGI for the Live Aid concert reminded me of the zombie hordes from World War Z. My dad and I were nearly into tears during some of the emotional later moments. Again, powerful film about a rock legend and the band that skyrocketed him to the spotlight.
Getting Reel with Mr. Sunshine 