Rocketman

An epic musical fantasy about the uncensored human story of Sir Elton John’s breakthrough years.

After checking out this film a day early (unlimited card perks!), Rocketman really surprised me as to the impact and entertainment factor that it had, with films about musicians it is very often the case where it can become too immersive and forgetful that the film is to be enjoyed, not necessarily to be pixel perfect and this film managed that balance in a really unique and fresh way, one I haven’t really seen to this level from a film of this genre. Rocketman is of course about Elton John’s life, with a series of medium-large films being released recently which are similar, it definitely poses the question as to whether this film is in the shadow of the amazing Bohemian Rhapsody or whether this film will take off like a rocket into the skies of film success. Here are my thoughts.

I’ll start off with what I liked about the film and there was plenty for sure! I definitely think that the way in which the film kicked off was amazing, not only did it help to kickstart the journey into Elton’s life well but it also jumped straight in by showing him at his lowest, at an alcoholics anonymous meeting discussing his life. This acted as an important and key platform for the whole of the film - not only did it play an important role but it also added a nice element to the storytelling theme of the film. By giving Elton a really humble and down to Earth perspective, the film used similar techniques to similar films where we were straight away introduced to how his life was at the end of the film but allowing us to find out how he got there and even though it’s been used a few times now, this film managed to execute it really well and ensured that the film started off really strongly. I also really liked how the film introduced us to a variety of different aged Elton characters too, seeing them as the only people in the village wearing colour and with a real passion definitely helped to ignite the spark and to really give us a great idea of how he was seen by not only his community but by his family and friends too whilst growing up. Leading on from this, I thought that arguably one of the best elements of the film was the way in which the film really connected with us in a really intense manner throughout, it was clear to see how bad of a childhood he had but not only did this help to add empathy and sympathy to the character but it also really helped to make him seem multi-dimensional and real, and then ensured that emotions and actions later on in the film such as the arguing over dinner or meeting his Father just that more powerful and emotional, because we could really feel how he felt. The film got us involved with the characters amazingly well. I thought that the characters and the actors within this film were absolutely fantastic as well, not only were the character models really good but they felt unique and realistic, which meant that they all had a purpose and they were exciting to watch, commonly when a film has a lot of characters which come and go, then we can forget about them but that isn’t the case here. A lot of characters came and went but it still felt like they had never left, because of how well we got to know who they were and their relationship with Elton and around him. Seeing how the characters develop and adapt throughout the film is also really well done, it feels intense and thrilling because the film seems to take a lot of sharp and unexpected turns, characters are constantly changing and adapting which means that they stay quite distant but close enough to be exciting and fun to watch. What I also loved about the characters was that they just felt really realistic and engaging for the time period it was set in, the actors, their dialogue, music and just the general themes of the film.

The acting, writing and singing are superb. Taron Egerton did not try to truly imitate Elton but instead performed the pieces in his own style that he moulded as closely as possible to the original, this provided a really unique mix to the film because it covered a lot of the stress and pain in his life but with a twist - it was done in his own way and I genuinely think that he was fantastic, as were all of the actors to make them seem genuine and entertaining but the way Taron plays Elton John is something else, when he sings and moves you can really feel the passion and the excitement from the audience when he sings, it was a great performance from all of the characters.

It is definitely going to be compared to the highly rated Bohemian Rhapsody which was amazing, but where that film felt like a mirror, this felt like a painting. Rocketman differs from Bohemian Rhapsody by unleashing the story of Elton John as a fantasy musical. In doing so, it, in my opinion, captures the full range of emotions - from trials to joys - without trapping it in the confines of reality. It's a film which shows the highs and lows of his early life and that is what makes the film thrilling, somewhat shocking and genuinely great to watch. Another key part which I liked about this film was the musical aspect, the movie dives into the inspiration behind each Elton song, which truly shows what he was feeling when he performed each song. For example when he performed “I’m Still Standing” it was the perfect part of the film and his life, not only did it represent his therapy success but also the way in which he still wanted to do music and the passion was still there, a variety of different songs throughout matched the moods and parts of his life perfectly and I thought that it was so unique and powerful to see this - the music in this film is perfectly implemented and makes the film feel truly thrilling and just really well thought through and well made. I thought that not only was the twist to the real-life story of Elton really interesting but it also helped to make the plot seem and feel really immersive and exciting, a lot was happening quickly which keeps the film interesting and exciting, there aren’t really any boring parts of this film - but what I liked about this was that it definitely didn’t feel forced upon us to interpret everything, so the film was still easy to understand and follow. The actual plot of the film was really engaging too, it felt like more of an autobiography tribute film rather than a story because of how select parts of his life were shown in detail, but I thought that this was actually well executed because it meant that the scenes we did see actually had a purpose and that they then flowed together with Elton’s older self scenes very well - making the film really fluid and positive to follow. It is important to remember, this is not a movie about a rock star with their music along with the story. It is a musical about a rock star through the eyes of a man during the troubled years of his life. In this way it can convey Sir Elton John's life and struggles in a way that the viewer may understand in a less obvious, blunt manner but powerful and strong nonetheless which is communicated to us very well and definitely evokes a reaction from us, mainly because of the great acting but also because of the knowledge and empathy we have towards Elton as a character. There was also the perfect ending to the film, I thought that it shows a really strong level of satisfaction for us and progress to show how he now feels towards all of the main characters, by speaking to them and through flashbacks.

The film wasn’t all perfect though. I was a little bit disappointed by the fact that this wasn’t so much of a life story as it was a highlight and lowlight reel, I thought that one of the best parts of Bohemian Rhapsody was that it followed the character and that really allowed us to get close, but here that wasn’t the case and therefore the story felt a little choppy because of how his age changed significantly during scenes. I was also slightly disappointed as to how little attention and screen time was given to his wife. The most important part of his career is pushed to the side. We don't know who she is, how she knows him, or even her name. The actress is literally given around 6 lines. So when her three minutes of screen time is up, and you find out her and John have divorced, you don't care because you learned nothing about her and then we move on, it definitely should have had more time to develop - although seeing his alcoholism at the breakfast table was a very good start, I just feel more time should have been dedicated to it.

I didn't expect it to be a musical. I thought it would incorporate Elton's music of course, but with this was an actual musical with people dancing and singing, needless to say, I’m not a fan of musicals! But like I said, I expected more focus to be brought into his life and his periods of change. It was definitely still a great film though nonetheless.

Overall, I would give this film a 9. I thought that the unique and fresh storyline, combined with a great character set and a film that really had a powerful emotional impact was really good and definitely helped to increase his fan base in a modern music world, it was great fun and the main point I’d say is that it can be enjoyed by anyone, of course I have heard his music but I’m not his biggest fan, however I still enjoyed the film thoroughly. Of course, there are problems such as lack of coverage and the structure of how the film was linked together is questionable but there is no doubt that this is a great film and that you should see it, regardless of whether you’re a fan of his or not because the acting is on point here!

Thank you for reading my review, I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did watching the film and writing this review! Have a lovely day! :)