Review: Rocketman (2019)

Rocketman (2019)

This film really is what you would want from a musical biography. Not only is it the customary showcase of a vast plethora of Elton John's incredible catalogue of hit songs, but more than that, its retelling of John's story is one that is piercing, fascinating and important to behold - detailing the extreme hardships of his childhood that paved the way for the struggles and addictions he would consistently contend with through much of his adulthood and through the beginning of his uber successful career. The story is quite the dark one, but one that therefore deserves to be told - both as an important character study and also to help understand the human behind the superstar.

Rocketman shares more than a few similarities with last year's very-mediocre Bohemian Rhapsody and, by all accounts, Rocketman is what Bohemian should have been. (Interestingly, Rocketman's director, Dexter Fletcher, was a producer of Bohemian - perhaps he took more than a few lessons forward for this one...). In addition to the story it tells, where Rocketman succeeds over Bohemian is in its direction. Rocketman excels in its artistic ambition, most often during its musical numbers, which perfectly complement the flamboyant and creativity found throughout John's music. There are a lot of neat narrative and imaginative divergences the film takes in these numbers (a bit reminiscent of Across the Universe) that will help to maintain the longevity of this film and make it one to continue to go back to years from now.

Elton John's struggles with addiction and identity make up the running theme throughout the film. Though the film surely is also a celebration of his career and music, a number of the songs are presented in relation to these struggles giving the film a depth not often found in such musical biographies. Your Song, Rocketman, I'm Still Standing and Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting were personal standouts for me, and, again, the context some of these are presented in may not be what you were expecting going in. Lastly, this film would absolutely not be what it is without Taron Egerton's astounding performance. Already I can see him getting a potential Oscar nom during next year's awards. It is incredible to learn that he sang all of the songs himself making his performance all the more remarkable. Jamie Bell also is excellent in the film. For any Elton John fans out there or simply people in the mood for an excellent musical biography, this one's for you!