Take a wild, emotional ride through the life of Elton John in ‘Rocketman’

Posted on June 7, 2019

By MARK VIOLA

Last year we got the rock biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody,” telling the story of famed rock band Queen and its larger-than-life leading man, Freddie Mercury. The movie seemed awash in controversy over every trailer and every moment, unrest not helped by the film over-performing at the Academy Awards earlier this year.

Now we have another rock biopic, “Rocketman,” telling (at least part of) the fantastical story of Elton John, one of the most successful musicians ever, having sold more than 300 million albums during a career than has spanned 50 years. Interestingly enough, this film is directed by Dexter Fletcher (“Eddie the Eagle”), who was brought in to finish “Bohemian Rhapsody” after director Bryan Singer was let go.

This isn’t going to be a review filled with comparisons, but let me get this out of the way. As much as I enjoyed “Bohemian Rhapsody,” this movie is better in almost every regard. One of the smartest decisions the filmmakers, including screenwriter Lee Hall (“Billy Elliot”), made was to turn Elton John’s story into an actual musical.

This not only allows Taron Egerton (“Kingsman: The Secret Service”) to showcase his singing ability as Elton John, but it also allows the story to play a bit fast and loose with the exact timing of events and songs, using the best lyrics in the best moments to get the audience inside Elton’s mind at the time. And to be sure, that’s not always a place you want to be. Egerton is absolutely amazing, both with his singing as well as his performance as the struggling and emotionally vulnerable musician.

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