Freddie Mercury rising | Inquire Lifestyle

We can begin at the end. As the credits of "Bohemian Rhapsody" roll, "Do not Stop Me Now" is shown, focused on a young, seemingly invincible Freddie Mercury. That song goes: "I'm burning through the sky / Two hundred degrees / That's why they call me Mr. Fahrenheit / I'm traveling at the speed of light … Do not stop me now."

These words are extremely fitting when it comes to the all-too-brief life of Queen's front man, Freddie Mercury, who died in 1991 at the age of 45 from AIDS-related illness. His death was shattering-the world-famous singer had been in seclusion for years and was one of the most prominent deaths due to the disease in its very early years of identification.

But as "Bohemian Rhapsody" shows us, Mercury's life is as important as its tragic death. Though the film is ostensibly about the Queen's band (it's basically an authorized biographical film as Queen Brian May's drummer and Roger Tayler's drummer is executive producers on the movie), it's really about the rise and fall of Mercury.

Queen (formed in 1970 by Mercury, May, John Deacon, Taylor and bassist) is one of the greatest acts in all of rock, with a strong emphasis on the boundaries of recorded music. greatest rock anthem of all time. "Bohemian Rhapsody" takes the Queen story and delivers a condensed, somewhat fictionalized version of the bandwagon. It goes back to the band's origin, has a baggage handler at Heathrow named Farouk Bulsara ("Mr. Robot" himself, Rami Malek) join up with astrophysics grad May (Gwylim Lee), train dentistry student Taylor (Ben Hardy) and electronic engineering Grad Deacon (Joe Mazello) to form Queen, which struggles and then stoops to conquer as it becomes a daring musical entity. Along the way, Farouk transforms into the Freddie Mercury. The movie charts the band-behind-the-scenes drama-but the plotlines that rivet are those concerning Mercury's private life. "Bohemian Rhapsody" discusses Mercury's unusual though touching lifelong relationship with Mary Austin (Lucy Boynton) and her shifting sexuality.

Greatest hits

Aside from that, who has seen a very good musical biopic (2005's "Walk The Line" about Johnny Cash, 2004's "Ray" about Ray Charles and 1985's "Sid & Nancy" about Sid Vicious, among others) can sense what's about to happen. Like those movies, "Bohemian Rhapsody" focuses on several Queen's greatest hits, such as the title song, "We Will Rock You," "Love of my Life" and "Another One Bites The Dust."

The requisite song numbers vibrate with authenticity. It should be accepted that Freddie Mercury save Freddie Mercury. Thus, it is commended that the film simulates live Mercury performances using what sounds like 90 percent with Mercury's actual vocals with a bit of a sound and a tiny bit of Malek. The illusion is effective, as it sounds like a worthy approximation, and May's virtuoso guitar work is also simulated. It will take considerable restraint from the hearing to a singalong session. But what then makes "Bohemian Rhapsody" more than a glorified two-hour music video director Bryan Singer ("X-Men") and writer Peter Morgan (Netflix's "The Crown")?

Live Aid

First is Live Aid. It's hard to explain what Live Aid meant to modern audiences. Back in 1985, before the internet, the concert, which seeks to raise funds for the African famine, was broadcast live to over a billion viewers of the world at two hits and served as a cultural touchstone for Generation X. A late addition to the roster, Queen-Mercury really-was the highlight of Live Aid, and may be the greatest live rock performance of all time.

The available video of that 20-minute performance has been dissected by rock diehards like the Zapruder movie was by conspiracy theorists. "Bohemian Rhapsody" takes a large part of that performance and turns it into an immersive 360-degree experience, taking the viewer on and off stage as Mercury delivers its career-defining moment. It's accurate down to the Pepsi cups on the piano and the movie treats the Wembley Stadium crowd like it's single organism interacting with Mercury.

The other thing that makes "Bohemian Rhapsody" stand out as the performance by Malek as Mercury. Armed with prosthetics that helped mimic Mercury's facial features, Malek begins the movie clearly as Rami Malek pretending to be Freddie Mercury. Malek portrays Mercury as troubled, lonely and eccentric, something that vanishes once he is on stage. As the movie progresses and Mercury changes, Malek begins to become Mercury. By the time of the fateful Live Aid concert, viewers will forget that Malek is acting as Mercury. It honestly feels like it's Mercury's prancing around on stage, as it's absolutely nasty. Mercury's shimmying, fist-pumping swaggering onstage clothes in a performance that most likely makes Malek a favorite for an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. However you judge "Bohemian Rhapsody's" elements, Malek alone is reason enough to see this movie.

The big point that "Bohemian Rhapsody" makes is just how important Queen is to the development of rock music as we know it. It works as a nostalgia for those already familiar with Queen, but they are not familiar with Queen. It will also tell you why you should be familiar with Queen. Ultimate, it will rock you (sorry, could not resist), and at its heart is Freddie Mercury, as Rami Malek ignites the spectacular, sad and sonic saga of the mighty band behind the mightiest of rock anthems.

20th Century Fox's "Bohemian Rhapsody" opens in cinemas on Oct. 31.

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