New "Queen" movie

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by tensummoner, Jul 9, 2018.

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  1. tensummoner

    tensummoner wish i had a nickle.. thats it just wish i had 1 Thread Starter

    Location:
    Ocala, FL
    Just curious on what everyone's thoughts are about "Bohemian Rhapsody". do you think Rami Malek can do the job as Freddie?
    he has the some of the presence... but those crazy eyes he has..... has me saying nah I don't think so.
     
  2. KAJ1971

    KAJ1971 Ex-burger flipper/Sapper/book seller, Reg Nurse.

    Wait and see. Could go either way. First band I got into in '84. Not much of a reader of biographies. I'll go and see it.
     
  3. wavethatflag

    wavethatflag God is love, but get it in writing.

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    I'm a huge rock 'n' roll fan, a music geek. That's why I'm on this Forum so much. Queen is not among my favorite bands, but I certainly am familiar with and own their hits, and their performance at Live Aid was a big deal when I was a kid in the 80s. The only full album I have is the one with "We Will Rock You" on it.

    Freddy Mercury was of course, really something else. But this movie isn't. It was a competent portrayal of their story, and other than that, really sort of dry. It catches all the mechanical details, the lead's Freddy portrayal is pretty good, but the writing here, well, It's missing something. I don't really recommend it. I'd say if you're really into rock 'n' roll biopics, sure go. But otherwise, this one is optional.

    The teeth prosthetic was probably a bit overdone? Any Freddy fans with an opinion on that? I remember seeing him in an interview in the 80s, it was from a rock documentary, and I couldn't get over how awkward his overbite was, and was at the same time amazed that, all of the years I'd seen him on stage and in videos, it was not an issue in the least. You could see it, but his voice and the way he carried himself onstage made it not an issue.
     
  4. dcd2112

    dcd2112 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Milwaukee, WI USA
    I'm a big Queen fan and I was thoroughly impressed with the movie in more ways than I would have criticism of it. I'll get to the aspects of the film that were impressive after my thoughts about what didn't work for me. For me the biggest issue was the chronological sequence of events was not followed. I imagine this was done for dramatic effect and to tell a 20 year long story in just over 2 hours and also to acknowledge that Freddie Mercury would become ill with Aids, but without showing him deteriorating as a result of the illness. For instance, the movie would have you believe that We Will Rock You was written in 1980/81 instead of 1977. Another pretty glaring one was the movie portraying that Freddie and the band knew he had Aids when they played Live Aid in 1985. Freddie didn't learn he had Aids until 1987. There are other historical inaccuracies as in the timing and reasoning behind the band ending its practice of crediting the sole author of each song and simply saying each song was authored by Queen.

    The positives though were really strong. I think it really told the story well of Freddie's relationship with Mary Austin. He in fact left virtually his entire estate to her, despite being in a committed relationship with Jim Hutton for the last 7 years of his life. He still loved Mary. That came across as powerful as was the rift between himself and his father. I don't know if his father "got" what his son was doing eventually as the movie shows.

    The actors who portrayed the other guys in the band should receive as much notice as Rami Malek for his portrayal of Freddie, particularly the guys who portrayed Brian May and John Deacon. I mean those actors had everything nailed, from speaking voice characteristics to mannerisms. Roger Taylor was like 85% there and mostly because the actor who portrayed him didn't sound quite like Roger.

    Then the attention to detail in things like the equipment was just stunning. The Live Aid sequence looks, well, like your watching the actual thing. Much the same can be said of any other scenes that show the band playing. It really looks like Queen playing with gear that would have been accurate for different years that footage was recreated for. Really astounding attention to detail. Even Freddie's piano technique was recreated to a tee.
     
    Veni Vidi Vici likes this.
  5. Squealy

    Squealy Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    Vancouver
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