Sorry Mick Jagger. Move aside David Bowie. Take a seat Axl Rose. There is no doubt that Freddie Mercury is the greatest rock star and Queen is one of the most amazing rock bands of all time, with a varied catalogue of timeless hits never quite ready to bite the dust. As such, you’d expect a biographical film about the British group, their gloriously unpredictable music, featuring the larger-than-life front-man to be just as brilliant and just as bold as the musicians themselves. Alas, director Bryan Singer’s Bohemian Rhapsody is not that film.

Where Queen was courageous and flamboyant, Bohemian Rhapsody, a film named after arguably their best song, is formulaic. Where Queen’s music was highly influential for generations of artists to follow, Bohemian Rhapsody employs dozens of rock movie clichés. And where Queen was known for their elaborate concerts and attention to detail, the research done by screenwriter Anthony McCarten is occasionally lazy, with some obvious factual errors regarding the timeline of events and song releases.

Still, though Bohemian Rhapsody isn’t the great piece of cinema Queen deserved, it is still an entertaining film and it’s almost all entirely down to Rami Malek’s spectacular performance as Freddy Mercury. Here, the actor brings the legendary vocalist/pianist/songwriter to life in an electric turn as the British/Parsi icon. Whether it is replicating Freddy Mercury’s signature moves on stage, his mannerisms or his complex personality, Malek is more than up to the task.

Bohemian Rhapsody is entertaining thanks mainly to a powerhouse lead performance but is not the quality biopic the iconic band Queen deserved

The film takes us through the band’s humble beginnings in the 1970s as Farrokh Bulsara, a college student and baggage handler at Heathrow Airport, convinces guitarist Brian May (Gwilym Lee) and drummer Roger Taylor (Ben Hardy) to allow himself to be the replacement singer for their band, Smile. Later, with John Deacon (Joseph Mazzello) joining in as bass guitarist, the quartet rename themselves as Queen, paying their dues until finding the attention of EMI Records. Farrokh is then reborn as Freddie Mercury and the band begins a meteoric rise that grips the world.

As I said, the script is largely a by-the-numbers affair. Fears that Freddie Mercury’s sexuality wouldn’t be explored are somewhat unfounded. The film takes a look at the challenges he faced as a bisexual man in an era when homosexuality was stigmatised. But this is by no means an examination. Though Malek is tremendously successful at lighting fire with a narrative light on fuel, Bohemian Rhapsody shies away from taking risks and getting to the real heart of its characters.

Though Bohemian Rhapsody isn’t the great piece of cinema Queen deserved, it is still an entertaining film and it’s almost all entirely down to Rami Malek’s spectacular performance as Freddy Mercury. Here, the actor brings the legendary vocalist/pianist/songwriter to life in an electric turn as the British/Parsi icon.

Likewise, Freddie Mercury’s inner demons and his sometimes prickly relationship with his bandmates aren’t allowed the honest depiction that a more courageous film would have given them. This, however, isn’t entirely surprising considering the hit-or-miss nature of Bryan Singer’s work, which often is strangely underwhelming.

Rami Malek’s likely Academy Award-nominated acting, the film’s excellent trailers and Queen’s status itself may have led viewers like me to have gone into the picture with disproportionate expectations. Bohemian Rhapsody isn’t a quality biopic but rather a popcorn film designed to entertain and earn money. The proof is in the pudding. Whenever Bohemian Rhapsody finds itself in a storytelling rut, it simply hits us with another great Queen number. And, of course, the music is good enough for us to overlook the film’s shortcomings, at least in the moment.

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, suggestive material, drug content and language

Published in Dawn, ICON, November 18th, 2018