Bohemian Rhapsody – Movie Review

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Freddie Mercury performing in New Haven, CT (1977)

Before I start my review I have to tell you all this; I am the biggest Queen fan I’ve ever met.

With that said, Bohemian Rhapsody is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a long time. Trapped in a generation of blockbusters and sequels, Bohemian Rhapsody is a refreshing take on a true story.

Many other reviews I have read mostly complained about some cosmetic changes and timeline choices, like Rami Malek’s “distracting” false teeth and blue eyes, or the fact that “We Will Rock You” was written in 1977 and not 1983, but the debut tour of Queen’s sixth album, News of the New World did take place in ’77, but it was portrayed after the flop of Queen’s ninth album, Hot Space.

Looking past these, Bohemian Rhapsody is a touching, heartbreaking and empowering movie about a struggling group of four very different college students trying to make it big.

The portrayal of Freddie Mercury’s struggle with his sexuality is captured very well and professionally, in a way that both tugs at your heartstrings, and makes you cry out in joy.

The climax and final scene of the film is Queen’s “reunion” performance at Live Aid in 1985. While the story deviates a bit from true story, this is done to raise the stakes of bringing the band together to play for a cause that ties up loose ends with the band members and between Mercury and his family.

While the movie is lacking in post-1985 Queen, it does it justice in the epilogue, recapping Mercury’s death in 1991 and the re-release of the titular song–“Bohemian Rhapsody”–which reached #1 for two weeks.

The movie included some exciting cameos, like Mike Myers (who headbanged to Bohemian Rhapsody in Wayne’s World) as the producer from EMI and Adam Lambert (Queen’s current lead singer) as a truck driver.

Overall, this movie does justice to the story of Queen and is one of the best movies of the year (definitely Best Picture worthy).

If you want more Queen, check out Queen’s official Youtube channel, or this Queen Spotify playlist.