Rocketman

An incredibly smart and cleverly styled almost-musical that presents the extravagant figure of Elton John through his colourfulness and creative musical set-pieces. The retrospective narration from a rehab centre is not a very original frame, but everything is well held together and Elton’s increasingly open confession provides the viewer with a complex picture that is fully celebratory in the end, naturally, but one that is 100% believable, unlike Mercury’s portrait in Bohemian Rhapsody. Rocketman might not be exceptional craftsmanship, but it manages to sensitively and believably balance complex motifs like homosexuality, family mistrust and the hardships of stardom, without making the audience feel they’re being led by the nose. And it’s also distinctive filmmaking, which is good. And Egerton is really good. 80% (04/04/2020)

A musical biopic or a musical? Rocketman wants to be both, and tries to present Elton John's life story as a film that deals with his addictions and traumas, but also has people dancing in the middle of the street. It's nice to look at, but it doesn't quite fit together and the really dramatic scenes in particular don't work very well because there simply isn't enough time for the film to properly sell them. But it looks very nice and sounds even better. It just skims the surface and wants to entertain above all else. Of course, I won't say it's bad, but I would have liked a bit more. (29/05/2019)

Rocketman doesn’t have much to say. That a sensitive artist becomes addicted to alcohol and drugs because of a difficult childhood without the love of his parents is a week premise, even if it’s about a real-life pop star. It’s a story that’s probably similar to every other like it. And since I don’t like any of Elton’s songs, which don’t stir any emotion in me, and I find his costumes to be overly pretentious and even self-parodying, I can only appreciate Rocketman’s great filmmaking style and hardworking actors. (08/06/2020)

Last year we had a peek into the life of Freddie Mercury, and now we have a chance to visit the realm of Elton John. And what a colourful ride it was, full of catchy songs, drugs, alcohol, ups, downs and finding love for your fellow man and yourself. At times, Rocketman is more of a musical than a film about music – they did a great job of fitting Elton's songs into the flow of the story. I don't know how true to reality the events depicted are, but I was happy to be enlightened about Elton's life, which was not really easy - especially when it came to his relationship with his parents and the pervasive feeling of loneliness. The film does have a slower pace and you do have to get used to get used its concept, but then it all starts to pick up nicely and it only comes to a halt during the closing credits. (10/06/2019)

Finally a music biopic that’s not afraid to playfully and creatively use the possibilities of the media, without unnecessarily tying its hands with what most viewers want and expect. And that’s why it’s not just a lazy, slavishly unimaginative farce like that overrated music biopic from last year 😇 So I'm a rocketman! (30/05/2019)