Rami Malek is Freddie Mercury in "Bohemian Rhapsody"*

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by AKA, Sep 5, 2017.

  1. neo123

    neo123 Senior Member

    Location:
    Northern Kentucky
    I only pointed it out because people going back and forth on whether or not he looks like him. Why argue over something like that when the portrayal is what matters the most?
     
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  2. Steve M.

    Steve M. Forum Resident

    Location:
    Adelaide
    Why not? If that's what people want to discuss, it's ok.
     
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  3. andrewskyDE

    andrewskyDE Island Owner

    Location:
    Europe
    Woah! The original version was that long!?
     
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  4. Runicen

    Runicen Forum Resident

    The problem with any casting for a role like this is that, until you've seen the movie, you have no idea whether the actor inhabits the role. All you know is whether or not they resemble the person they're portraying.

    In this case, I'd argue that Malek is NOT someone one would compare to Freddie. Period. I had very low expectations when I saw the initial stills and promo materials.

    And then.. I saw a trailer... Holy crap. The guy may not look the spitting image of Freddie, but he could sound and act like him and it's a thing to behold!

    Kind of a good case study for not letting the immediate impression rule the day.
     
  5. noname74

    noname74 Allegedly Canadian

    Location:
    .
    Exactly...of course he may not look exactly like Freddie but he’s close enough that it isn’t distracting and once you add his acting talent it’s about as good a choice as possible. Buggy eyes and all. :wiggle:
     
  6. Steve M.

    Steve M. Forum Resident

    Location:
    Adelaide
    I don't think he acted and sounded that much like Freddie.

     
    Last edited: Nov 9, 2018
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  7. eddiel

    eddiel Senior Member

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    People need something to complain about I suppose. It's not a big deal if someone wants to discuss it, but to me it's a 10 second conversation:

    "He doesn't look exactly like Freddie"
    "No, but he's close and does a great job portraying him in the movie"

    How much more can you really talk about? :)
     
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  8. Steve M.

    Steve M. Forum Resident

    Location:
    Adelaide
    People need something to complain about, like complaining about complaining. :laugh:
     
    Last edited: Nov 9, 2018
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  9. blind_melon1

    blind_melon1 An erotic adventurer of the most deranged kind....

    Location:
    Australia
    There was actually a few points in the movie where I thought he looked more like Mick Jagger!

    Excellent movie, I've seen it twice now :) (I've also got most of my friends, and their wives to go and see it).
    Word of mouth is doing/has done big things for this pic!

    ... can't wait to own it!
     
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  10. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    Yeah the old word of mouth adage,
     
  11. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    Looks different alright. :D
     
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  12. Sondek

    Sondek Forum Resident

    We're not supposed to talk about this, but...

    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]
     
  13. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    Wrong bio pic. :)
     
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  14. OberonOz

    OberonOz Senior Member

    Nope. Ive mentioned this before. In fact, it was the one thing in the movie that bothered me the most. They pretty much nailed all the hairstyles and clothes in this movie, BUT they got this wig wrong, he looks more like Mick, and the sequin leotard was all wrong. Because it was the one thing they noticeably got wrong with the costuming it really bugged me.
     
  15. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    New York Doll. :)
     
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  16. Anthrax

    Anthrax Forum Resident

    Location:
    Europe
    Big Queen fan here. I went to watch the movie last week and enjoyed it for the most part. The fan in me wasn't happy with how they played around with the timeline, or how they exaggerated/made-up things in order to manufacture a climax, but that's movies for you. I was very happy watching the recreations of Smile and the beginnings of the band, and also the shows. Live Aid probably didn't need to last that long, but the truth is that it was a blast and the main reason why I'd be willing to go watch it at the cinema again (it makes me think one day technology will be used to remake/recreate events (like concerts!) that to this day we've only been able to watch from the limited camera angles of the original filming effort, presenting them from other viewpoints as if we'd been there).

    I agree that Mr Malek does a great job throughout, though by the end of the movie I was getting big-eyes overload! When the real Freddie took the screen come credits time, it came as a relief (the quality of that clip was appalling, though. Was that the best they could do?). I've seen Freddie imitators get his mannerisms and stage moves down more accurately, but I loved what he did with his facial expressions, the way he moved his mouth, etc. Malek made me forget I was watching a movie at times, and I can't give higher praise to an actor portraying a beloved real-life character. But my biggest kudos go to Gwylim Lee, he's got his Brian May down to perfection. Every little move he made while he spoke, the intonation and inflection of his voice... Total Brian May, just fantastic.

    I'm not gonna bore you now elaborating on the things I didn't like, and instead I'll tell you one thing I wasn't expecting and really enjoyed: the humour! I enjoyed and appreciated it that plenty of humour was injected throughout.

    This is overall a very positive movie. It made people laugh, it made people emotional, it reminded everyone of just how great Queen's music is, and you could tell coming out of the theatre that there was a good atmosphere, people had been made to feel good! Us fans can sit here and pick nits till the end of time, but this movie has a lot more pros than it has cons, and I'm glad they made it.
     
  17. Tim Lookingbill

    Tim Lookingbill Alfalfa Male

    Location:
    New Braunfels, TX
    I thought the same from seeing the trailers until I saw the movie two nights ago.

    There's something to be said about the energy and spirit projected off the screen by an actor doing the long haul performance of inhabiting a character so convincingly that you forget who the actor is portraying which is what I felt right up to and during the Live Aid performance. The sound and energy of the music combined with the crescendo of the story line was timed and paced perfectly from beginning to the end to evoke a response similar to feeling like I was at a world changing event championed by some kind of pop culture patriotism and Bohemian Rhapsody was its national anthem.

    I could feel the energy. My heart was pumping 90 to nothing just sitting in the theater taking it in and I didn't know why. Maybe it was coming from Malek's energy or the music or both. The sound in the theater of the Live Aid performance was incredible. Roger Taylor's kick drum had a monster bottom end. By comparison the YouTube HD version of Live Aid sounds like it's played over a pocket transistor radio.

    Most of Queen's music in the movie has a live, bigger than life sound except for the studio session scenes of the creation of Bohemian Rhapsody which sounded like the CD.

    Queen never sounded this good being this loud IMO.

    I do believe this movie was directed at Millennials to demonstrate how to change the world with pop culture. During the Live Aid segment marketing and media personalities kept stating stats on how many showed up at this big event like some massive GoFundMe even I wasn't aware of at the time, but then I didn't watch Live Aid when it originally aired. Was working and raising kids.

    There's more to this movie than just a biopic of one of the most innovative and unique rock bands on the planet. I really enjoyed this movie.
     
    Last edited: Nov 9, 2018
  18. Tim Lookingbill

    Tim Lookingbill Alfalfa Male

    Location:
    New Braunfels, TX
    Just to give you guys some perspective on the cultural impact of Queen's music, as a Texas boy living in quite a few small towns growing up around rednecks, cattleman, the FHA high school crowd and farmers, I remember those folks were listening to Queen and loving it!

    I refrained from pointing out to these guys the band's effeminate style and gender bending swagger. I just didn't want to ruin it for them.
     
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  19. There is an Irony of Freddie's personal flamboyant persona and lifestyle and their big sports anthems that have caught on big time in the big beer drinking jock world. Right!!?? Love it :tiphat:
     
  20. DreadPikathulhu

    DreadPikathulhu Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    I finished Jim Hutton's Mercury and Me last night and thought it would make a worthy sequel to Bohemian Rhapsody. It's mostly focused on Freddie's personal life though Montserrat Caballé makes several appearances; lots of stories of Freddie and Jim traveling, decorating their home, adopting cats, and the lingering shadow of Freddie's illness. It would work well as a drama.
     
  21. questrider

    questrider Forum Resident

    Location:
    Middle, Nowhere
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  22. Tim Lookingbill

    Tim Lookingbill Alfalfa Male

    Location:
    New Braunfels, TX
    Would love to hear what a Millennial thinks of the irony.

    I remember when and where I was when I first played Queen's ANATO album. It was on cassette. I was lying on the floor in the living room with my socially awkward red headed cousin who was adopted and now believe to have had autism who lived on an alfalfa farm with his adoptive father (my German grandmother's brother) in Sioux City, Iowa, my first time out of the state of Texas.

    I listened to that cassette over and over trying to figure out how they harmonized the vocals and got those weird howling sounds out of a guitar. I didn't even have a Beach Boys or Beatles album at the time. Finally bought those 40 years later.
     
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  23. Tim Lookingbill

    Tim Lookingbill Alfalfa Male

    Location:
    New Braunfels, TX
    Check out "Mr. Robot". Malek owns that character. The story line and writing in that series is about as good as "Breaking Bad". It's very cinematic, unlike network series' like NCIS and others.
     
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  24. DreadPikathulhu

    DreadPikathulhu Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    That’s Delilah closest to him, Freddie’s favorite and the subject of a song on Innuendo, with Miko.
     
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  25. PaulKTF

    PaulKTF Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    Skip this movie and just watch the Live Aid concert(s) instead.
     

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