Movie Poster

So, tell me. What makes Queen any different from all of the other wannabe rockstars I meet?

Tell you what it is, Mr. Reid. Now we're four misfits who don't belong together, we're playing for the other misfits. They're the outcasts, right at the back of the room. We're pretty sure they don't belong either. We belong to them.

# Review

This film retells the story of Freddie Mercury, from his humble beginnings to the meteoric rise of the band Queen with Mercury as the frontman. While the film tells the story of the band, it focuses mainly on Mercury, both his rise to stardom and his various troubles along the way, such as his struggle with his sexuality, his conflicts with his fellow band members, and his health problems.

Queen is one of my favourite bands and it absolutely blew my mind how the actors capture the likeness of the band members. While Gwilym Lee’s Brian May, Ben Hardy’s Roger Taylor, and Joseph Mazzello’s John Deacon are excellent, Rami Malek perfectly captures the essence, mannerisms, and flamboyance of Freddie Mercury. Malek is particularly good during the scenes involving Queen's live performances. The supporting cast, which includes Lucy Boynton’s accepting Mary Austin, Aidan Gillen’s crafty John Reid, and Allen Leech’s complex Paul Prenter, all contribute to the main narrative. Both Brian May and Roger Taylor are producers of this film, so I can imagine that, while the narrative is rosy, there must be some semblance of what actually happened.

The cinematography is very snappy, and it leads to a very engaging pace. The film has a good sense of lighthearted humour but also has some very dramatic and intense moments.

# Conclusion

A film that explores the complex life of a musical great.

# Overall rating: 8.3

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