Rocketman

Perhaps I just haven't seen a good musical in a long time. Perhaps Rocketman, a retelling of Elton John’s life story in the form of extravagant music therapy, is truly this year’s best American feature film. A retrospective look at key moments in someone’s life is common in biographical dramas, but it works splendidly here thanks to the explicit nature of the therapeutic framework. While other biographical films are only implicitly conceived as therapy, Rocketman flaunts its “healing” structure with the acceptance of an inner child, just as the main protagonist, with his dazzling costumes, does not hide the fact that he is “queer”. During the group therapy session, which he approaches a bit like another one of his performances, Elton gradually becomes more and more naked (both literally and figuratively), not in order to finally remove all of his masks, but so that both parts of his personality, introverted and extroverted, sensitive and clownish, Reggie and Elton, can come together and he can finally accept himself. He arrives at this through a series of rejections by people close to him (father, mother, Sheila, John), who were conversely unable to accept him. Rocketman is not a by-the-book biopic, which is also due to its spectacular musical numbers, a) invigorating stories with a glam-rock aesthetic at every possible opportunity and humorous and unexpected ideas (Elton and the audience floating during “Crocodile Rock”; recreation of the “I’m Still Standing” video from the 1980s b) expressing what’s running through the protagonist’s head, and c) contributing to smooth transitions between the individual stages of Elton’s life. Blurring the line between reality and fantasy, the musical numbers also add a good deal of lightness to the film, even during more serious moments, so that it does not deteriorate into another story about the tragic fate of a suffering homosexual. In and of itself, Rocketman would be an almost flawlessly executed film within the context of the genre, but compared to the recent Bohemian Rhapsody with its extreme insincerity toward the protagonist and pack of homophobic clichés and stereotypes, it is a masterpiece. Paradoxically, it seems that fans of Freddie Mercury’s biopic do not like the film because of what Bryan Singer’s did not even attempt: stylisation in accordance with the central character’s manner of expression. 85% (23.05.2019)

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)

Since the producer of this film is Elton John himself, we can assume that Rockeytman was made to his image. But the musical inserts just didn't feel right for me. I’d prefer for the film to be a more typical biopic with everything it entails. Plus the songs I knew where altering with some I wasn’t familiar with, which I admit is my personal problem. Had it not been for the music moments, which start right from the beginning, it would have been a model biopic. You won’t recognize Taron Eagerton; he simply became Elton. And what does his singing sound like? I couldn’t believe that he sang all the songs himself. For this reason alone, Rocketman deserves your attention, but if it didn‘t include the musical moments, it would have been better. (30.01.2020)

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)

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)