TO CLOSE

"Bohemian Rhapsody" is a breathtaking celebration of Queen, their music and their extraordinary lead singer, Freddie Mercury, who challenged stereotypes and broke conventions to become one of the most beloved artists of the planet.
20th Century Fox

Brian May (Gwilym Lee, from left), Freddie Mercury (Rami Malek) and John Deacon (Joe Mazzello) are the owners of the scene in the biopic of Queen "Bohemian Rhapsody".(Photo: ALEX BAILEY / 20TH CENTURY FOX)

In "Bohemian Rhapsody" In the film, there is a sequence in which the screen is sprinkled with all the harsh words that the critic had used at the time for "Bohemian Rhapsody", the song ending in "perfectly adequate".

This is the nicest thing we can say about the new biopic Queen (★★ out of four, ranked PG-13, in the theaters of November 2) and the most damning. Besides a solid work of Rami Malek ("Mr. Robot") as a magnetic frontman, Freddie Mercury, some exciting musical sequences and a few moments of real size, the film is essentially a painting with numbers behind the music travel through the highs and the lows of the British iconoclastic rock band.

"Rhapsody" traces Queen's story from the band's early days in the early 1970s to its epic flight show at Live Aid in 1985. Before becoming a rock god, Mercury worked as a porter at airports when he met guitarist Brian May (Gwilym Lee) and drummer Roger Taylor (Ben Hardy) the same evening, their main singer was left. "Do you play bass?" They ask. "No," Mercury says bluntly.

First reactions: Rami Malek is an "incredible" Freddie Mercury in "Bohemian Rhapsody"

More: The biopic of the Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody & # 39; has a new director after the sacking of Bryan Singer

Her flamboyant stage presence and stellar singing quickly win the crowds as well as fashionista Mary Austin (Lucy Boynton), who becomes Mercury's best friend and lover. At home, Farrokh Bulsara, an immigrant parsi. The personality of the rock star does not go so well with his traditionalist father (Ace Bhatti), who preaches "Good thoughts, good words, good deeds" instead of smoothing the microphone.

With the addition of bassist John Deacon (Joe Mazzello), the group captures the imagination of the world with songs like "Keep Yourself Alive" and "Killer Queen". When the opera "Bohemian Rhapsody" will make its appearance in 1975, Queen's music and brotherhood tested in the best sequence of the film, where they experiment to create their dynamic number and then have to sell a label director (Mike Myers) on . (The Wayne's World fans will appreciate a quippy line.)

Directed by Bryan Singer (who was fired three weeks before the end of the production, followed by Dexter Fletcher), "Rhapsody" makes puzzling decisions about storytelling, primarily with respect to the treatment of homosexuality. Mercury. As he is probably unknown to many casual fans, his romance with Austin occupies a disproportionate place in the film. Nothing indicates that he's gay until he's fine in the movie, when he finds out that a guy is going in his bathroom, and even after their rupture, it remains an object of his affections. Personal Director Paul Prenter (Allen Leech) is getting closer to Mercury but is a poison within the group. In the end, the relationship between Freddie and Jim Hutton (Aaron McCusker) is a stabilizing force, indispensable after the diagnosis of AIDS. (Mercury died in 1991 at age 45.)

Members of Queen Roger Taylor (Ben Hardy, from left), Brian May (Gwilym Lee), John Deacon (Joe Mazzello) and Freddie Mercury (Rami Malek) perform lyric singing for "Bohemian Rhapsody". (Photo: ALEX BAILEY / 20TH CENTURY FOX)

Malek nails the look of Mercury and his look dressed in catsuit. Although his false teeth (which mimic the signature of the legend) represent half of the work, his performance is remarkable rather than his impression of karaoke. (To capture Mercury's voice of choice, Queen's recordings were used, as well as a soundalike and Malek himself.)

He does not have the indomitable energy of Mercury, nor his swagger, but then who has it? What does not help us is an archive video showing the real Mercury, who owns "Do not Stop Me Now" in the credits, a bitter and sweet reminder that he was one of a kind.

More: Lady Gaga teases the new music video from "A Star Is Born:" I'll Never Love Again & # 39;

& # 39; Believe & # 39; at 20 years: How Expensive Auto-Tuned Changed Music Forever

Because it plunges into Queen's greatest hits, "Rhapsody" has an absolutely incredible soundtrack, and Malek and his movie screen mates keep these musical scenes controllable, reaching their climax with a long enough period on the Live Aid stage. In any other year, the performances could be memorable, but they are in comparison to those of this other musical currently in theaters, "A Star Is Born".

It turns out that the song "Bohemian Rhapsody" is a sound masterpiece and that "Bohemian Rhapsody" is only a classic rock movie, too commonplace for a man and a group that has given the extraordinary.

Automatic reading

Thumbnails poster

Show captions

Last slide next

Read or share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2018/10/23/rami-malek-freddie-mercury-cannot-save-queen-biopic-bohemian-rhapsody/1725195002/