By: Keaton Marcus

Acclaimed filmmaker Bryan Singer directs long-awaited Queen-based biopic, "Bohemian Rhapsody", and the result is that a spectacular performance by Rami Malek can't save the muddled, routine drama pic; There are many high-notes that "Rhapsody" easily hits, including an Oscar-worthy outing from Malek, along with incredibly executed scenes of music, but that never quite stops the film from becoming more of a rock concert than a film, which may or may not be what some fans are looking for. The anticipated direction by "X-Men" filmmaker Singer is extremely disappointing, trying to squeeze the truly mature story into such amateurish execution; this along with the surprisingly dull script by Anthony McCarten, who never really told the life of Mercury successfully.

The film follows the story of a young, lonely man named Farrokh Bulsara who is currently in an unsuccessful relationship with his concerned parents, working at a baggage handler at Heathrow airport. However, when he starts finding growing inner talent for song, he auditions for the remainder of the band in a parking lot, which will soon become rock band Queen; along with changing his name to Freddie Mercury. Mercury falls in love with a girl named Mary Austin (Lucy Boynton), but soon becomes timid off stage, and in their relationship because of his climbing attraction for men. "Bohemian Rhapsody" clearly loses for authenticity in his utterly "gay" life, as they portray the disturbing moments in many scenes, though play it safe far too much.

I mentioned it a couple of times before, "Bohemian Rhapsody" is always trying (and struggling) to input a truly R-rated life of Mercury, into a truly watered down PG-13 tagged film. This surprising issue hits the film many times, as they skimp in almost every conceivable moment of what makes Mercury...well, Mercury. While there are many ridiculous, and clever scenes; especially where Mercury is shown dressed as the king of England, along with saying nonsense the pleasing moments are nowhere near enough to save the mediocre and familiar biopic, especially considering the subject matter.

There are many impressive bits and pieces about the film, but the only real thing to go watch is the rocking performance by Rami Malek. The actor, to cover the authenticity of the role, even wore fake teeth to impersonate those bulging, dirty chompers of Freddie Mercury; along with this--for most of the songs--the actor mixed his voice with Mercury's voice, which works in spectacular fashion. The new, young actor to the film business digs himself so deep into the role, that sometimes, the audiences are just wishing for the many...and I mean many flaws to just f..k off, Malek is really the man to play the rock icon. The actor performs many titular songs, such as "We Will Rock You" and of course "We are the Champions", along with the hit "Radio Ga Ga"; the song "Bohemian Rhapsody", which is a six-minute "epic" was really mentioned in a comic scene featuring Mike Myers, where the actor portrayed an EMI record executive, who denies inputting the song on the radio, after noting that no one will listen to a song that long. That stumble along the way was followed by terrible critical reception, reporting that it was an unsuccessful mash-up of rock and classical music; and as we look upon this today, we think, oh god, they were so wrong. The film also features a twenty-minute concert sequence, which is the finale to the film, and is the best scene consisting in "Bohemian Rhapsody". This is where Malek/Mercury sings most of their famous songs. While the LIVE AID concert can get lengthy, if you watch the real-life Mercury, and then compare it to Malek's impersonation, you will find them identical; and I mean this is a sincere compliment. The sequence is beautifully filmed and well-edited, giving a truly undeserving movie a killer ending.

The final verdict is: "Bohemian Rhapsody" features an Oscar-worthy performance by Rami Malek, and as expected, the musical scenes are top notch, but this watered-down biopic suffers from poor direction and many, many holes in the scripting...$KIP IT

FILM REVIEW “BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY”

Freddie Mercury (Rami Malek, center) in Bohemian Rhapsody — Freddie Mercury (Rami Malek, center) in *Bohemian Rhapsody*

Bohemian Rhapsody delivered a three day of over 51M, in its second weekend, the film dipped just 39%, grossing over 31M; Currently, the film has topped 214M domestically after 122 days in release.

Genre: Drama/Musical

Age Rating: 14+

Lemonradar: 50/100 "sour"