Rocketman (2019) Dir: Dexter Fletcher
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I had watched the second half, rather annoyingly, of this film some time ago, but finally I managed to watch it in full - and I ultimately found it to be a somewhat mixed bag.
The musical numbers were excellent. Naturally, the songs are all Elton John classics, and their jivvy tunes support some brilliant choreography and well executed setting and costume changes.
Speaking of which, the costumes used throughout were wonderful - many paying tribute to the acclaimed musicians storied collection of on-stage attires. The narrative was solid, although it suffered from some severe pacing issues.
At just 121 minutes, the whole film felt incredibly rushed, as though it were in fast forward. Now, I can appreciate that director Dexter Fletcher was trying to show as much of Elton's journey as possible in the runtime, but still, it was hard to enjoy sometimes because the film never really came up for air.
Taron Egerton excells with a peferomance beyond his years as the complicated musical icon. His willingness to throw himself into the role with complete exuberance was truly commendable and satisfying. Furthermore, his singing was very solid - this film has brought his credibility to an entirely new level.
Kit Connor and Matthew Illesley do extremely well as younger iterations of Elton John, doing so in what is not an easy role to play at all.
The biopic has a very talented supporting cast, each having their moments. Of those, Jamie Bell and Richard Madden were especially good, but credit should also be given to the talented Bryce Dallas Howard, Steven Mackintosh and one of my favourite British actors; Stephen Graham.
Overall, this was a good attempt at displaying the sad and complex life of Elton John - who was a producer for the film - I can't deny I enjoyed it, but the pacing really took away from the quality of the piece.
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