Rocketman (2019)

SWITCH. May 29, 2019

★ 6/10

There’s so much that works about ‘Rocketman’, so the fact it never fully commits to its musical fantasy conceit is a bit of a disappointment. It ends up aligning most with Julie Taymor’s curious 2007 Beatles musical ‘Across the Universe’ - a really great idea and approach to the work of a musical artist that never finds its feet or the bravery to fully be itself. It’s still a moving and occasionally stirring portrait of Elton John, and while the lack of emotional or narrative detail in the screenplay never allows Taron Egerton to fully unleash his potential, he’s still a terrific Elton John and sings the hell out of these amazing songs. In the end, despite a refreshing honesty and some fascinating choices, ‘Rocketman’ is never as daring as it so desperately wants and needs and deserves to be, a film on the road to somewhere but never quite getting there. - Daniel Lam…

garethmb May 31, 2019

Elton John has had a career that has spanned decades, millions of albums sold, packed venues, awards, and more than a few headlines. In the new film “Rocketman” audiences get a look behind the man thanks to the amazing and Oscar worthy portrayal by Taron Egerton. The film opens with a flamboyantly dressed John entering rehab in one of his stage costumes. As he opens up with his group, he shares the story of his childhood as a shy child who is desperate to have his father show him any signs of approval or affection. When it is discovered that he has talent with the piano; his grandmother encourages him and even takes him to apply for a position at the Royal Academy of Music. His mother (Bryce Dallas Howard) is moderately supportive but is more focused on her social life brought on by her failing marriage. As the film unfolds; we see Elton working in a backup band and in time ans…

Gimly September 11, 2019

★ 6/10

_Rocketman_ tries to walk a line between the paint-by-numbers musician biopic bog standard, and epic musical fantasy. A lot of the time when a movie tries to be a blend of two things, it ends up being neither. _Rocketman_, conversely, ends up being both, just never at the same time. It's basically two movies, and that epic musical fantasy movie I was talking about that's in there, that's a **great** movie. Unfortunately, the other one, is not so much. I'm still gonna come away giving it a recommendation, because there is enough in there to mean that I enjoyed it, especially in the core casting, all of which is great, not least Egerton. But I was little disappointed, not because my expectations were too high going in or anything, but because every time Rocketman began to slip into a euphoric high, it was moments later wrenched back to, well... Reality, I guess. Albeit a reality we only se…

GenerationofSwine January 12, 2023

★ 1/10

I am honestly sort of split down the middle here. I mean, I THOUGHT it was going to be about Elton John... and it was... ...kind of... ... but it was also a lot more fantasy and fiction than it was a biopic, and had I known that I might not have bothered watching it. I might have braced myself for something that isn't really realistic and more dream-sequence than straight film. So it's not at all what I was hoping for and that did kill it for me. I just wanted to watch a movie about Elton John. Hopefully see a fan movie about Elton John. Especially since I think that Bohemian Rhapsody did Freddy and his story a bit of a disservice. And instead... I got something a little more... Trippy than expected. So I guess, if you like how stylistic it is, you'll enjoy the movie... I mean, it IS about Elton John, so you have a great soundtrack guaranteed. To me, it just seems a lit…