“Rocketman” (R)

All systems are go for “Rocketman,” a creatively staged look at the wondrous life and music career of rock legend Elton John. Naturally the film comes with a lot of pressure attached because of the blistering worldwide box office success of the “Bohemian Rhapsody,” but from the very beginning “Rocketman” lets you know that it’s talking a much different trajectory than the Queen/Freddie Mercury biopic.

Instead, while “Bohemian Rhapsody” is about the creation and live performances of the Queen’s music, “Rocketman” uses the music of Elton John and lyrics of Bernie Taupin to tell the story of singer-pianist’s (Taron Egerton) tumultuous upbringing and the inner demons that nearly destroyed his life until he became sober and found the personal life and love he so desperately longed for.

AUDIO: Hear Tim’s review of “Rocketman” with Tom Barnard on “The KQ Morning Show” on KQRS-FM.

As such, “Rocketman” is far from your standard music biopic. Obviously, it covers key moments in Elton’s life and career, but it is essentially presented as movie musical (which is already screaming for a Broadway adaptation) with fantasy elements woven throughout. Perhaps the best film to compare “Rocketman” to is director Julie Taymor’s ingenious 2007 movie musical “Across the Universe,” which created characters and a immersive love story based on the classic songs of The Beatles.

Here, the characters are all based on real people, naturally, who take turns with Egerton singing such Elton standards as “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting,” “Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word” and “Goodbye Yellowbrick Road” as the story unfolds from his early childhood as a musical prodigy throughout his career highs and personal lows, to his eventual recovery in the 1980s.

“Rocketman” continues the music/movie winning streak for director Dexter Fletcher, who rescued “Bohemian Rhapsody” from ruins after he was hired to finish the film after original helmer Bryan Singer was fired. Clearly “Bohemian Rhapsody” demonstrated that Fletcher had the goods when it comes to telling stories of classic rockers, and “Rocketman” gives him the creative freedom to play out the life of a legend on a much bigger stage.  Smartly, Fletcher hired Egerton (of the “Kingsman” movies) after their work together on the under-appreciated sports biopic “Eddie the Eagle”; and the actor, whose singing voice is used throughout the film, impresses in a risky turn that could have turned out to be a disaster if the performances were at all underwhelming.

So does Egerton sound like Elton John? Yes and no. Elton’s voice is so unique that no actor could have truly matched it, but since “Rocketman” is essentially a movie musical, sounding close enough to singer suffices. Thanks to Taupin’s lyrics, Elton’s songs seem to have mini-movie plots of their own, where people like musician’s fans can play out the scenarios in their minds. As such, Egerton finds himself in the best of both worlds, being in the unique position to play the singer and act out his life in a fantastical way at the same time.

The performances in “Rocketman” are spectacular all around. Egerton, like “Bohemian Rhapsody’s Rami Malek, is Oscar nomination-bound, as could be Jamie Bell, who brings heart to the film in the pivotal role of Bernie Taupin. Just as strong in their supporting turns are Richard Madden as Elton’s sleazy business manager/lover John Reid (who appeared much more sympathetic in his portrayal by Aiden Gillen in “Bohemian Rhapsody”) and Bryce Dallas Howard as Elton’s unpredictable mother, Sheila. Tate Donovan is also terrific in a small but memorable role as Doug Weston, the owner of LA’s Troubadour nightclub, which effectively launched Elton’s career in America in August 1970.

While “Bohemian Rhapsody” earned more than $900 million worldwide, critics largely criticized the film, claiming the PG-13 film went too light on Mercury’s raucous antics and bad behavior, and glossed over his life as a gay man and his eventual struggle with AIDS. Also criticized was how the film took liberties with the band’s musical timeline and the timing of Mercury’s AIDS diagnosis in order to fit the film’s narrative.

“Rocketman,” on the flip side, truly gives an R-rated look at Elton’s life warts and all, which was a deliberate decision on behalf of the singer (his husband, David Furnish, is one of the film’s producers), who wanted his story told as truthfully as possible. While critics will be hard-pressed to find fault with the frank presentation of Elton’s life, it will be interesting to see if they take issue with how screenwriter Lee Hall, like “Bohemian Rhapsody” scribe Anthony McCarten, loosely played with Elton’s musical  timeline of big events in his life to again, help craft a sensible narrative. Honestly, people should have no gripes with either the Freddie or Elton film, especially considering how difficult to cram a storied artist’s life into 2 hours.

AUDIO: Hear Tim’s review of “Rocketman” with Paul Douglas and Jordana Green on “Paul and Jordan” on WCCO-AM.

For as much as “Rocketman” has going for it, the film has its share of flaws. First, the omission of “Someone Saved My Life Tonight” from the songs in the film seems like a missed opportunity, given how it chronicled such a dark chapter in Elton’s life. In addition, die hard fans of Elton’s music will likely be upset that his longtime band members don’t even get a mention.

After all, if Kiki Dee (in a glorious scene recreating the recording of “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart”), why couldn’t guitarist Davey Johnstone, drummer Nigel Olsson and late bassist Dee Murray get a shout-out? The band members, after all, played key roles in the creation of Elton’s classic albums, so to be reduced to background players in the film is somewhat a slap in the face to their collective legacy. Thankfully, it’s a small dose of heartbreak in an otherwise glorious film.

Lammometer: 8 (out of 10)

Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for The KQ92 Morning Show,” “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC), WCCO Radio, WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere.

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