Bohemian Rhapsody reviews round-up: What the critics are saying about new Queen film
It's praise for Malek – but not for the remainder of the film
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The reviews of Bohemian Rhapsody are flooding in following the film’s London premiere.
Rami Malek stars as music legend Freddie Mercury in the Queen film named after one of the rock group’s most beloved songs – and while critics are particularly fond of his performance, they’re less enthusiastic about the remainder of the film.
According to its synopsis, Bohemian Rhapsody charts “the meteoric rise of the band through their iconic songs and revolutionary sound, their near-implosion as Mercury’s lifestyle spirals out of control and their triumphant reunion on the eve of Live Aid.”
The film’s production was rocked after Bryan Singer was fired as director midway through the shoot paving the way for Dexter Fletcher to step in.
You can read what the critics are saying about the film below.
The Independent – Clarisse Loughrey – 2 stars
The live performances are shot with a vitality that does genuinely capture the band’s vim, but Bohemian Rhapsody suffers from conflicting intentions: it both wants to be a celebratory skip through the band’s history while also serving as a satisfying biopic of Mercury. The latter is the most harshly underserved, despite Malek’s very best efforts.
The Guardian – Steve Rose – 2 stars
Rami Malek’s excellent performance aside, it feels less a pioneering musical odyssey than a really good covers band.
Variety – Owen Gleiberman
With a performance as commanding as Rami Malek’s at its centre, why isn’t Bohemian Rhapsody a better movie? Directed by Bryan Singer, who is now officially credited (after rumours that his name might be taken off the picture due to his failure to show up on set during the final weeks of filming late last year), the movie, despite its electrifying subject, is a conventional, middle-of-the-road, cut-and-dried, play-it-safe, rather fuddy-duddy old-school biopic, a movie that skitters through events instead of sinking into them.
IndieWire – David Ehrlich – D+
It’s insulting to see the lengths to which this film tries to capture the melodrama of Queen’s music, and humiliating to see the lengths by which it fails. The critical failure of Bohemian Rhapsody is that, 134 minutes after the lights go down, the members of Queen just seem like four blokes who’ve been processed through the rusty machinery of a Hollywood biopic.
The Telegraph – Tim Robey – 3 stars
The story of Freddie Mercury and his band, which has finally reached us on film, plays out a little like that. It strains effortfully for the top notes and vaguely growls the low ones.
Bohemian Rhapsody also stars Lucy Boynton, Ben Hardy, Aiden Gillen and Mike Myers as EMI executive Ray Foster.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments