MovieChat Forums > Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) Discussion > Poorly executed movie, let us be honest

Poorly executed movie, let us be honest

posted 5 years ago by HAL 9010 (903)
52 replies | jump to latest

This is not a good movie. And in no way "best movie" category material.

Indeed, Queen alone demands attention and warrant interests, and that surely kept me in my seat. But I felt I was just waiting for the final climax at Live Aid throughout the whole experience. I kept thinking this was really poorly executed and told in an unnecessarily bland way. Cliched buildup and inaccuracies in the lore, just to fill the form of how a biopic is usually put together.

Example of a missed opportunity is how amazing it was when people sang along in Rio. This is told through them watching it on TV. Imagine if it was truly conveyed through the story. I felt it was a rescued mess in the editing room, to avoid tanking completely. Not a good movie, by any means. Not bad either, the acting was interesting but really when it comes down to it this is all it was. Remove the eccentricities of Malek, and we have an empty shell.

A typical BBC type TV movie. Nothing more, nothing less.

[–] jgm4661 (80) 5 years ago

Was actually a pretty compelling story centered around Mercury and his related career and personal issues. I never saw much in their music before but after this movie saw much more. The concert scenes and the genesis of some of their biggest hits were exciting too.

Obviously there are much more well renown artists whose stories would be more interesting where their influence on music was far more impactful. " Love and Mercy' , " Ray" and " Straight outta Compton" come to mind. But this wasn't so much a story about being a genre pioneer, ground breaking, overcoming injustice or making music history.

In the end, "BR" seemed to wrap up nicely and resolve most of the issues Queen faced, was a tribute to Mercury , showed their legacy towards Aids charity and given the limited material to work with in their shortened career, would say it was a good effort here

[–] Mahrez99 (236) 5 years ago

You must be joking.

"Obviously there are much more well renown artists whose stories would be more interesting where their influence on music was far more impactful."

Queen's influence on music is immense and there are few (if any) that surpass them. Just the fact that they basically created the music video, paving way for MTV later. Or the revolutionary creative studio work with layering techniques and unique sounds. Opening up big stadium markets in South America. Innovating styles and sounds over decades influencing numerous big artists coming later. And so much more.

https://www.unilad.co.uk/featured/queen-are-the-most-important-band-in-musical-history/

I guess you were unfamiliar with them before the movie, but know that Queen is way up there among the likes of Beatles as the biggest band of all time - whatever parameter one will use to judge these things by.

[–] jgm4661 (80) 5 years ago

Was being complimentary actually. You can adore them all you like but their movie was more about Freddie Mercury and his story more vs how they made ground breaking strides in music. Creating stomp to arena rock songs was not like creating the White Album or PET Sounds.

They were somewhat influential but keep it realistic. They are not in the same breath as originators as say James Brown, Aretha Franklin or Ray Charles who not only had to break through in music but also overcome a world of racial and social injustice. Queen are a good band but as far as influence goes you can't compare them to the greatest influences like Bob Dylan, the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Who, Neil Young , Elton John, much of Motown REM etc etc

[–] Mahrez99 (236) 5 years ago

Yeah, with opinions like that the gulf is just too great here. Let's just agree to strongly disagree on this issue then.

[–] liscarkat (16515) 5 years ago

Excellently executed movie, let us be honest. This is a very good movie, "Best Picture" material. Sorry for you that you couldn't enjoy it, though.

[–] HAL 9010 (903) 5 years ago

Honestly, far from. I did enjoy it though.

The biggest two fails I saw was the editing and generally how linearly and unimpressive the storyline was mechanically told. Very typical for a biopic. Nothing wrong with that, but praising it about it, is.

Here is an article critiquing a bit harsher: https://nationalpost.com/entertainment/movies/bohemian-rhapsody-is-hot-trash-and-probably-the-worst-best-picture-frontrunner-in-history/amp
- so I know I am not alone.

From the article:

”... every creative decision it contains is the easiest, laziest, most boringly familiar thing imaginable...” - I would agree.

”... it tells the story of the band’s Wikipedia page — a history in pat synopsis replete with innumerable factual errors, retconned details and a degree of artistic license that makes A Million Little Pieces look like In Cold Blood... ” - bit harsh, but true?

I challenge you to read this article, and tell me it is wrong :)

[–] rnmboon (376) 3 years ago

"A typical BBC type TV movie. Nothing more, nothing less."

That is probably a good summary. Queen could have been a good subject for a movie, but this movie takes a VERY lazy approach. A good biopic doesn't just tell a good story about it's subject but is also able to stand on it's own as a piece of cinematic art. This film does neither of these two things: it's accuracy is criticised and as a film it is not really that interesting. The makers were afraid to take too much risk and as a result the film turned into an adequate tv-movie. Too bad.

[–] HAL 9010 (903) 3 years ago

Spot on

[–] Bubbathegut (17220) 3 years ago

Made over a billion, obviously people liked it.

[–] HAL 9010 (903) 3 years ago

Yes, it received surprisingly good reviews.

I mentioned above: Here is an article critiquing a bit harsher than the mainstreet: https://nationalpost.com/entertainment/movies/bohemian-rhapsody-is-hot-trash-and-probably-the-worst-best-picture-frontrunner-in-history/amp
- so I know I am not alone.

From the article:

”... every creative decision it contains is the easiest, laziest, most boringly familiar thing imaginable...” - I would agree.

”... it tells the story of the band’s Wikipedia page — a history in pat synopsis replete with innumerable factual errors, retconned details and a degree of artistic license that makes A Million Little Pieces look like In Cold Blood... ” - bit harsh, but true?

I challenge you to read this article, and tell me it is wrong :)

[–] Bubbathegut (17220) a year ago

1 billion says you are wrong.

[–] HAL 9010 (903) 10 months ago

I was one of the billion who saw it, so it can't be all of them.

[–] Bubbathegut (17220) 10 months ago

I thought it was a good movie. Not great but decent.

[–] VonFisch (344) a year ago

I wish they had showed a little more story behind their songs. They were a bar band then get signed then suddenly they're singing Killer Queen on Top of the Pops. Sheer Heart Attack was their first album my oldest teenage brother purchased so I was really interested in seeing how they arrived at that point.

I did enjoy the bits about making A Night at the Opera album.

This was a movie about Freddie, not really Queen as a whole, as we never saw the other members with their families. But Brian May and Roger Taylor signed off on it. Maybe they didn't want people to know about their personal life and everyone is interested in Freddie's but honestly, I was more into wanting to see how they put their music together as well as the results of their efforts.

[–] Jes' Sayin' (5955) 10 months ago

There's not such thing as a good or bad movie. We can only say how it landed for us. A movie that lands well for a lot of people we can say is popular. This one is currently at 7.9 on IMDb. It's a higher rating than I would give, but it has certainly landed well.