Rocketman
2019 / (R) / 121 minutes
New Republic Pictures
2019 / (R) / 121 minutes
New Republic Pictures
__________
Of all the music-related
bio pics hitting both the big
and small screen these days,
this is the flick I've been
looking forward to most.
bio pics hitting both the big
and small screen these days,
this is the flick I've been
looking forward to most.
__________
The problem with the 2017 blockbuster, The Greatest Showman, was that it didn't know what it wanted to be. It kinda wanted to be an authentic bio pic based on the life and career of celebrated showman P.T. Barnum. But it also wanted to be a modern-day, pop fueled, Glee-style musical that somehow plays out in the 1800s. Be sure, I enjoy a lighthearted teen-targeted musical production just as much as the next aging hillbilly. And I definitely love a compelling, historically accurate bio pic. But by playing it from both sides of the fence, TGS failed to deliver either effectively. As a result, the integrity of the story was compromised — despite generating seven billion in box office receipts. Directed by Dexter Fletcher, Rocketman doesn't know what it wants to be either.
Elton John is arguably the most successful and influential music artist since the lads from Liverpool made their big splash in the early 1960s. As a lifelong super-fan of John and the iconic music he created with songwriting partner, Bernie Taupin, what I was craving was a riveting, in depth, accurate bio pic revealing brutally honest insights into the lives and careers of both men — the songs they wrote, the albums they created and the legendary band members who brought the music to life. What I got often looked more like the latest installment in the popular High School Musical film franchise.
Like I said, there's certainly nothing wrong with shamelessly spirited musicals. But when John (still going by his real name Reginald Dwight), performs as a young lad in a local British pub in the early 1960s, long before ever even meeting Taupin and he bursts into a signature John / Taupin standard from 1973 for the sake of a campy ensemble song and dance scene, well, it squelched the film's authenticity factor, PDQ.
However, when focused on the story, Rocketman delivers in spades. The splintered relationships between John and his parents are heartbreaking. The tension between John and former manager and lover, John Reid is riveting. And John's deeply personal and painful struggle to navigate through the world of superstar excess is fantastic, indeed.
A logical question might be; How can you have an authentic Elton John bio pic with NO mention of Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy? Well, in Rocketman, there is no specific mention of any of John's iconic, chart-busting albums. There's no mention of his much-loved band members — no Davey, no Nigel, no Dee, no Ray — not even as much as an "attaboy" for longtime producer, the late Gus Dudgeon. Did Elton John ever collaborate famously with his hero, John Lennon? You wouldn't know it from Rocketman.
John's story is recounted cleverly in the setting of an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. And it's in that scenario, in the film's final moments, when Rocketman delivers its most powerful payoff, as John offers forgiveness to those who have hurt him most in life. Additionally, he asks forgiveness of those same people for his own transgressions. Powerful, indeed.
Huge props are owed to the film's superb cast. Taron Egerton doesn't play Elton John — he becomes Elton John. Jamie Bell as Bernie Taupin, Richard Madden as John Reid and Bryce Dallas Howard as John's mother, Sheila also deliver amazing performances.
So, was Rocketman entertaining? Of course. Was it worth the $6.95 I paid for my senior's matinee discount ticket? Sure. Heck, I'm even gonna see it again, and take my GF. But it was no Bohemian Rhapsody. Which is unfortunate, as I expected this film to clear that bar easily. But what I find particularly baffling is, why on earth would such an adult, "R"-rated film be produced to seemingly appeal to such an impressionable teenage audience? Hmm, odd.
Elton John is arguably the most successful and influential music artist since the lads from Liverpool made their big splash in the early 1960s. As a lifelong super-fan of John and the iconic music he created with songwriting partner, Bernie Taupin, what I was craving was a riveting, in depth, accurate bio pic revealing brutally honest insights into the lives and careers of both men — the songs they wrote, the albums they created and the legendary band members who brought the music to life. What I got often looked more like the latest installment in the popular High School Musical film franchise.
![]() |
Taron Egerton delivers an award- worthy performance in Rocketman. |
However, when focused on the story, Rocketman delivers in spades. The splintered relationships between John and his parents are heartbreaking. The tension between John and former manager and lover, John Reid is riveting. And John's deeply personal and painful struggle to navigate through the world of superstar excess is fantastic, indeed.
A logical question might be; How can you have an authentic Elton John bio pic with NO mention of Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy? Well, in Rocketman, there is no specific mention of any of John's iconic, chart-busting albums. There's no mention of his much-loved band members — no Davey, no Nigel, no Dee, no Ray — not even as much as an "attaboy" for longtime producer, the late Gus Dudgeon. Did Elton John ever collaborate famously with his hero, John Lennon? You wouldn't know it from Rocketman.
![]() |
Egerton, Howard and Madden are simply superb in Rocketman. |
Huge props are owed to the film's superb cast. Taron Egerton doesn't play Elton John — he becomes Elton John. Jamie Bell as Bernie Taupin, Richard Madden as John Reid and Bryce Dallas Howard as John's mother, Sheila also deliver amazing performances.
So, was Rocketman entertaining? Of course. Was it worth the $6.95 I paid for my senior's matinee discount ticket? Sure. Heck, I'm even gonna see it again, and take my GF. But it was no Bohemian Rhapsody. Which is unfortunate, as I expected this film to clear that bar easily. But what I find particularly baffling is, why on earth would such an adult, "R"-rated film be produced to seemingly appeal to such an impressionable teenage audience? Hmm, odd.
(June 2019)
- A SHOT OF POISON -
"10th Anniversary Edition"
(2020)
__________
- SUPERSTAR -
__________
- SHOUT IT OUT LOUD -
(2014)
__________
- C'MON! -
(2012)