REVIEW #40 Rocketman (2019)

Rocketman is the musical Biopic of Elton John directed by Dexter Flether. We see his childhood as Reginald Dwight and his early music career before his wild journey with fame, drugs and alcohol. It uses his songs to tell the story of his life up until his first stint in Rehab, which is where he narrates the film from.

CAST & THE ACTING (9/10)

Taron Egerton is the lead, playing Elton John and he does brilliantly! His singing was excellent and not only did he dance and bring excitement into the film but he also showed the real darkness in Elton John’s life, portraying real range in his acting ability. Egerton’s performance will really have you singing along one minute and tearing up in the next scene! Richard Madden, Jamie Bell and Bryce Dallas Howard are just some of the other great actors who appear in the film. They also delivered strong performances which helped contribute to such a strong score in this category. 

PLOT & THE STORYLINE (8.5/10)

You will obviously know parts of Elton John’s life and thus, to some extent, you go into this film knowing what to expect. However what really surprised me is the real personal struggles he experienced which stemmed from a number of factors in his life. For example his childhood and upbringing, dealing with his sexuality and his love life. As a person born in 1998 I was aware of his battle with drugs but not much else as it was a bit before my time, so I was really hooked on this story of his life. I also appreciated how they matched his songs with the mood of the scenes. The music combined with the darker themes to this biopic really added the depth to the musical, which I have never really seen before. So I believe it deserves a great score here too.

CINEMATOGRAPHY & SPECIAL EFFECTS (8.5/10)

I actually thought the cinematography was fantastic in this film, they really perfected the transition between scenes. Whether that be from a scene in a pub transitioning into a musical number at a fun fair or from his performance at a concert to suddenly waking up in bed not knowing where he is. They utilised that transition to emphasise the extent of his drug and alcohol abuse, which was really clever. That was combined with blurring some scenes to highlight the drunken state Elton was in.  There wasn’t much to speak about in terms of special effects so I will use this to mention the costume accuracy  and the makeup/prosthetics used to age Taron Egerton. If you compare the scenes to pictures from real Elton John concerts you will appreciate just how accurate they were with the film! The ageing was done nicely, subtly changing his appearance as we progressed through the film, again compliments to their accuracy and timing.

OVERALL (8.7/10)

This is my first musical review and usually I am not a big fan of them, however Rocketman added emotional depth to a musical which allows audiences to connect with the film so much more. The acting was brilliant and full credit to Taron Egerton for his portrayal of Elton John. The cinematography was great to watch and the dark themes of addiction and depression meant that Rocketman transcended the normal musical stereotypes. It was very entertaining and had you singing along in some scenes but tearing up in the next! I would certainly recommend this film and it has just been uploaded to Netflix so give it a go.

Thanks for reading. 

Callan