Directed by:
Dexter FletcherScreenplay:
Lee HallCinematography:
George RichmondComposer:
Matthew MargesonCast:
Taron Egerton, Jamie Bell, Richard Madden, Bryce Dallas Howard, Gemma Jones, Steven Mackintosh, Tom Bennett, Kit Connor, Charlie Rowe, Tate Donovan (more)VOD (4)
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Rocketman is an epic musical story about Elton John's breakthrough years. The film follows the fantastical journey of transformation from shy piano prodigy Reginald Dwight into international superstar Elton John. This inspirational story - set to Elton John's most beloved songs and performed by star Taron Egerton - tells the universally relatable story of how a small-town boy became one of the most iconic figures in pop culture. (Paramount Home Entertainment)
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Reviews (8)
Perhaps I just haven't seen a good musical in a long time. Perhaps Rocketman, a retelling of Elton John’s life story in the form of extravagant music therapy, is truly this year’s best American feature film. A retrospective look at key moments in someone’s life is common in biographical dramas, but it works splendidly here thanks to the explicit nature of the therapeutic framework. While other biographical films are only implicitly conceived as therapy, Rocketman flaunts its “healing” structure with the acceptance of an inner child, just as the main protagonist, with his dazzling costumes, does not hide the fact that he is “queer”. During the group therapy session, which he approaches a bit like another one of his performances, Elton gradually becomes more and more naked (both literally and figuratively), not in order to finally remove all of his masks, but so that both parts of his personality, introverted and extroverted, sensitive and clownish, Reggie and Elton, can come together and he can finally accept himself. He arrives at this through a series of rejections by people close to him (father, mother, Sheila, John), who were conversely unable to accept him. Rocketman is not a by-the-book biopic, which is also due to its spectacular musical numbers, a) invigorating stories with a glam-rock aesthetic at every possible opportunity and humorous and unexpected ideas (Elton and the audience floating during “Crocodile Rock”; recreation of the “I’m Still Standing” video from the 1980s b) expressing what’s running through the protagonist’s head, and c) contributing to smooth transitions between the individual stages of Elton’s life. Blurring the line between reality and fantasy, the musical numbers also add a good deal of lightness to the film, even during more serious moments, so that it does not deteriorate into another story about the tragic fate of a suffering homosexual. In and of itself, Rocketman would be an almost flawlessly executed film within the context of the genre, but compared to the recent Bohemian Rhapsody with its extreme insincerity toward the protagonist and pack of homophobic clichés and stereotypes, it is a masterpiece. Paradoxically, it seems that fans of Freddie Mercury’s biopic do not like the film because of what Bryan Singer’s did not even attempt: stylisation in accordance with the central character’s manner of expression. 85%
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Finally a music biopic that’s not afraid to playfully and creatively use the possibilities of the media, without unnecessarily tying its hands with what most viewers want and expect. And that’s why it’s not just a lazy, slavishly unimaginative farce like that overrated music biopic from last year 😇 So I'm a rocketman!
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I wish Rocketman had been as well attended as Bohemian Rhapsody, because it's actually just as great – despite how different the two films are. However, I don't think Elton John has the same fan base here. But about the film – Elton is in rehab, addicted to just about everything he can be, and reminiscing. Or rather, "reminiscing". After all, his life is a string of amazing musical numbers. Colorful, exuberant, loud, but with plenty of room for silence, stuffiness, and gloom. And his hits have been given a new coat of paint in exactly that vein (for example, when Indian dancers appear in the scene with Saturday Night's Alright, Indian musical instruments are heard, and in other scenes the otherwise driving hits have become downright ballads thanks to the intimate delivery). It's all very imaginatively filmed – what the concert scenes and Live Aid finale are to Bohemian Rhapsody, the musical numbers are to Rocketman, but they're not just about entertainment, they're also about emotion, because... because the actors who do it all are perfect, and that finally brings me to Taron Egerton. If there's one thing I like more than last year's Bohemian Rhapsody, it's definitely his performance. The admirable transformation, the singing talent, the ability to smile and yet make it clear that he's not really into laughing at all. Hats off to him, it's great and completely unforgettable.
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Rocketman doesn’t have much to say. That a sensitive artist becomes addicted to alcohol and drugs because of a difficult childhood without the love of his parents is a week premise, even if it’s about a real-life pop star. It’s a story that’s probably similar to every other like it. And since I don’t like any of Elton’s songs, which don’t stir any emotion in me, and I find his costumes to be overly pretentious and even self-parodying, I can only appreciate Rocketman’s great filmmaking style and hardworking actors.
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An incredibly smart and cleverly styled almost-musical that presents the extravagant figure of Elton John through his colourfulness and creative musical set-pieces. The retrospective narration from a rehab centre is not a very original frame, but everything is well held together and Elton’s increasingly open confession provides the viewer with a complex picture that is fully celebratory in the end, naturally, but one that is 100% believable, unlike Mercury’s portrait in Bohemian Rhapsody. Rocketman might not be exceptional craftsmanship, but it manages to sensitively and believably balance complex motifs like homosexuality, family mistrust and the hardships of stardom, without making the audience feel they’re being led by the nose. And it’s also distinctive filmmaking, which is good. And Egerton is really good. 80%
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