Expected, I guess. By the way, the movie is 134 minutes long.
mike hunt · Member since
The bad reviews keep pouring in...They can't do anything right....
NickESB · Member since
Just home from the Wembley Arena premiere.
I’ll say that Malek is fantastic. He nails the Live Aid performance in particular (moves are near perfect throughout).
Rest of the film... I don’t know what to make of it.
The factual inaccuracies are hideous:
End of Smile/start of Queen chronology is a bit all over the place.
Pretner comes onboard pre-Bo Rhap as manager of band on behalf of John Reed.
Full (with lyrics) SSOR recording shown as part of first album.
FBG - yes, as feared, features in 1974-style concert.
Rio - film suggests Freddie visits there/Queen play there long in the film long before they actually did in 1981.
WWRY recording falls in 1980 (once Freddie has moustache, as feared. FYI the performance recreated to the Movie Mix says MSG, NYC 1980).
Freddie’s dad reading about Sun paper expose attributed to 1980
AOBTD - BHM plays Gibson guitar in the recording.
Just before Live Aid Roger (if I recall correctly) has doubts as the band “have not played together in years”. Works Tour ended May 1985!
AIDS diagnosis hinted at during Mr Bad Guy recording in Munich 1984.
Freddie tells band about AIDS during Live Aid rehearsals.
Equal Credits/royalties came about in 1985, according to the film, as a way of getting Freddie back on board to do Live Aid.
I think that’s it from memory.
Also, the live audio that accompanies the Bo Rhap rock section part during the film comes up as EDINBURGH 1976. It may be Hammersmith, or something from LK, but it was fabulous.
Golden Salmon · Member since
The inaccuracies are totally expected, but can you tell us more about any interesting musical bits? Anything not present in the OST? Any complete performances or are all/most partial?
Fredfan · Member since
oh man.
blueroom · Member since
Maybe the reviews will make QPL realise that we want actual music instead of shitty fictional biopics.
mike hunt · Member since
I heard the movie has a scene where Freddie begs the band to take him back because his solo career flopped and that he's nothing without them...The rest of Queen had a meeting and decided To let Freddie back in the band...I have a feeling Queen fans will hate this movie, and make May and Talyor, Particulary Brian as resenting Freddie for over shadowing the rest of the band...Resentful of Freddie is what some of the reviewers are saying...
YAFFF · Member since
Please tell me there isn't such a scene in this #$%! movie! If there is Brian and Roger are complete, utter assholes.
From UPROXX
"The third act of Bohemian Rhapsody feels like complete fantasy. The conflict comes from Freddie wanting to peruse a solo career, which in the film results in the band breaking up (which doesn’t appear to have actually happened, at least in any official capacity) – only to reunite for Live Aid. There is literally a scene of Freddie begging the band to take him back. Pleading that his solo career just doesn’t work without the rest of the band and he’s nothing without them. Then the rest of the band literally sends Freddie out into the hallway like a petulant child so the adults can talk. (If Freddie Mercury were alive today I suspect this is the scene that would piss him off the most.)"
"But I’ve never seen a film distort its facts in such a punitive way. It’s like the movie wants to punish Freddie Mercury. Again, he’s begging the band to take him back, now, in front of the world to see, because Freddie had the audacity to go solo. (Which doesn’t even appear to be true.) Now, it’s not mentioned that it was actually Roger Taylor who was the first member of Queen to release a solo album. Oh, yeah, and then a second one. Oh and then Brian May released his own solo album. And that Freddie Mercury’s first solo album wasn’t released until 1985. And John Deacon would perform on Mercury’s second and final solo album."
YAFFF · Member since
Please tell me there isn't such a scene in this #$%! movie! If there is Brian and Roger are complete, utter assholes.
From UPROXX
"The third act of Bohemian Rhapsody feels like complete fantasy. The conflict comes from Freddie wanting to peruse a solo career, which in the film results in the band breaking up (which doesn’t appear to have actually happened, at least in any official capacity) – only to reunite for Live Aid. There is literally a scene of Freddie begging the band to take him back. Pleading that his solo career just doesn’t work without the rest of the band and he’s nothing without them. Then the rest of the band literally sends Freddie out into the hallway like a petulant child so the adults can talk. (If Freddie Mercury were alive today I suspect this is the scene that would piss him off the most.)"
"But I’ve never seen a film distort its facts in such a punitive way. It’s like the movie wants to punish Freddie Mercury. Again, he’s begging the band to take him back, now, in front of the world to see, because Freddie had the audacity to go solo. (Which doesn’t even appear to be true.) Now, it’s not mentioned that it was actually Roger Taylor who was the first member of Queen to release a solo album. Oh, yeah, and then a second one. Oh and then Brian May released his own solo album. And that Freddie Mercury’s first solo album wasn’t released until 1985. And John Deacon would perform on Mercury’s second and final solo album."
mike hunt · Member since
yeah, that's the review I read...hopefully It's exaggerated..
The Nosuch Disco · Member since
Yeah the reviews are pretty much bob on! An ok movie with a good performance from Malek.
The liberties taken with the time line and what we know happened is probably a lot for die hard fans to stomach, but it serves the narrative a little. The only reason I can see why FBG is where it is is due to the line “I’ve been singing with my band, across the water, across the land...”.
I felt that the Live Aid audio had a bit of extra treatment over the soundtrack, but I’m no audiophile.
No studio outtakes present in the film that I can recall, just Marc Martel filling in for rehearsal and improv duties.
There’s a real cheesy bit with locations of gigs flashing across the screen as Freddie does various poses to Now I’m Here. The press conference bit was a bit like a dramatic student film.
I certainly felt that some aspects of the film felt low budget and like a TV movie.
Anyway, that’s my two pennies worth. Defo worth a watch, but maybe not repeat viewing.
NickESB · Member since
The meeting to let Freddie back in the band IS in the film. It’s a bit lighthearted but it happens.
Forgot to say, that Live Aid day begins with Freddie taking Jim (who he tracks down for the first time since meeting in 1980) to his parents for tea.
There’s also a line in which Freddie says to Mary that he’s “got to finish his second album”, put in around the time of the MBG sessions (no mention of opera, either!).
Golden Salmon: the only thing that stood out was the live Bo Rhap audio (1975 era) in which Freddie sounded amazing. I’m not convinced that the audio is Edinburgh 1976, which the recreated performance was meant to resemble.
Most performances are partial; Live Aid has abridged versions of BR/RGG/HTF/WATC and the vocal improvisation.
It’s easy to work out when it’s Marc Martel’s vocals; main one I remember is when Freddie is at a piano improvising the lyrics/chords to LOML.
WWRY Movie Mix is a bit different to the soundtrack and automatically less jarring.
Freddie’s first performance with Smile (playing KYA) has him screwing up the lyrics. Brian is heard saying “learn the words, Freddie”, or words to that extent.
FM’s voice is also portrayed to be in bad form at the Live Aid rehearsals (in the film said to be a week out from the gig) which prompts him to tell the band about his illness.
In general, I still don’t know what to make of it. The outfits and sets look fantastic, and are largely accurately recreated throughout (down to the Live Aid camera crew who Freddie messes with during HTF). One of the best moments is the way one dark scene goes straight into the Break Free video recording; a great juxtaposition. Also, the recreation of the Killer Queen video is excellent - features the side-on angle (from Roger's right-hand side, if you follow), which was a great touch.
It ends with a shot of Wembley (recreated stunningly throughout the Live Aid sequence) and the Live Aid audio echoing (as per the soundtrack), before the credits start with an acapella first verse to DSTMN. There’s a small timeline (Freddie death date, Freddie and Jim lived together, set up of Mercury Phoenix Trust, Bo Rhap re-release, from memory) - no mention of Queen “continuing” to this day, which will please some. DSMN audio eventually fades into the TSMGO.
dysan · Member since
It sounds much like we imagined. So that's good.
Now I'm fully around to the fact it's for the regular punter I'm fine with these inaccuracies to drive the plot. I'm sure if I saw The Doors now I'd pick more holes in it than I did in 1991.
Golden Salmon · Member since
I'm OK with them changing some facts to serve the narrative, but it inevitably pisses fans off. The problem with biopics is that reality is often more boring than the drama you're used to seeing in movies, so...
Still, it appears that it won't please neither fans nor regular moviegoers. Currently at 56% at Rotten Tomatoes.
dysan · Member since
Reviews mean nothing. Opinions other than ones own means nothing.
