Good except

Yes. Elvis has garnered new fans now. On the board I am in over 50% are between the ages of 19-29, followed by 30% 29-39 ages. And the modern music are used similarly to background music of any film. Some even are remixes of Elvis songs which gives it a fresh spin. It was jarring at first but I came to like it actually and 1 of the best movie ost imo.

The rehearsal remix is fantastic imo, as well as Craw Fever, Toxic Viva LV, and the duet of Power of My Love.

I think the point was to show how Elvis's music is still influencing the modern era. And it gives a little more grit to the scenes used. The two rap songs used on Beale street give those scenes a bit more edge and to showcase how that was 'the place to be'. It was jarring for me too as I don't like rap music but I do really like that transition from Hound Dog into 'Vegas' when Elvis is walking home from his truck and everything is in slow motion to show how cool and different he was against the other people in the court teasing him.

the rest of the songs are great remixes and Elvis collaborations that, when you listen to the lyrics, fit the scene as if it was a musical number on stage. Really well crafted.

In a word… Baz Luhrmann. He did the same exact thing with his adaption of The Great Gatsby. But to be fair, putting a modern spin on stuff has always been his thing (mostly done to good effect). Now he did give his reasons why this was done for Elvis and, while as much as I wasn’t a fan of this expected move, it made sense.

Still could have done without it, but not the worst thing. Fine film overall.

Agreed, putting a hip hop song in a 1950’s scene makes zero sense.

They have to throw that garbage into the film so the “new generation”, who have the attention span of a gnat, will be willing to see or get involved in a movie about someone who was around before their time. As brilliant as Elvis was, if he wasn’t around when this generation was alive, generally they don’t care about him or what he accomplished…he’s just “some old dead dude” to them.

I’m 39, and once again, I am speaking generally here, but people in their teens and 20’s today don’t give a rat’s ass about anything that happened before they were born. It’s pretty annoying.

I don’t like a lot about myself, but I do love the fact that I’m fascinated by eras and people who came before me, and I’m able to watch films from any era, put myself and my imagination into that time period, and enjoy the films no matter when they are made and no matter who or what they are made about.

Anyways, I thought the film was really good too, but also didn’t like the rap music tossed in there. Didn’t fit at all, and this is the perfect film to show how amazing music was from that particular era, and they toss in rap music…ugh.

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Baz does that, and it always seems to work...for me, anyway.

In Moulin Rouge, for example, it was to convey to today's audiences how contemporary and exciting that whole scene was back in the day. Using only period music would have made it quaint, but not relatable to many of us. It was not a documentary.

In Elvis, it may have been the same thing, or it may have been to convey to modern audiences how Elvis' music roots, and possibly his legacy, were multicultural. (Also, the music was not "heard" by people in the film; that would have been whack. It was for 21st-century audiences.)

Baz is an awesome director.

Again...my opinion. As always, other opinions are just as valid.