Bohemian Rhapsody

I remember when my father bought the Queen album A Kind Of Magic on cassette in 1986. He was driving his Nissan Sunny car, and the song A Kind Of Magic on max volume. That song made my summer of 1986 magical, and this album was the start of my Queen collection. From the age of 9 i was hooked up on Queens music, and i listened to their music constantly. I even got some of my friends from school to become Queen fans. Then suddenly in 1991, i heard on the news that Queen singer Freddie Mercury died of the disease AIDS on November 24. I don´t usually cry, but that day i cried. Freddie was a very big part of my youth, and it felt like a piece of my soul left this planet. Right after he passed away, i started collecting Queen items even more. I bought all their albums, posters, VHS concerts and magazines. I used to mix Queen tapes to neighbors, family members, and friends. The final songs that were recorded with Freddie Mercury before his death, was released on the 1995 album Made In Heaven. A collection of songs that goes deep into your heart, because there was something magical about Mercury´s voice. It may be many years since we lost him, but the music lives on. And i have no problem saying that Freddie Mercury will always be one of the greatest rock singers of all time, no one can ever replace him. When i look at shows like The X Factor, i can see that there are singers with talents. But i feel more aware of the fact, that no matter how hard they try, they can never find another Mercury out there. His stage personality and his voice will forever live on, for many generations to come. Of course Queen would not have been complete without the band members Roger Taylor, Brian May and John Deacon, they all made the band Queen unique in the British rock industry. For many years it seemed that we would not see a film based on the band of Queen, or the life of Freddie Mercury. Until rumors started coming out in 2010 that a movie was going to be made, with actor Sacha Baron Cohen on board to play Freddie Mercury. I was surprised by the fact that Sacha was chosen, knowing his background as a comedian. But in 2013, i found out that he left the project. It seemed that it would be difficult to find the right actor, but in November of 2016, actor Rami Malek ( known from the critically acclaimed TV series Mr. Robot ) signed on to play Freddie Mercury with director Bryan Singer on board the project. This combination seemed to be very interesting, since i enjoy Rami Malek as an actor, and director Bryan Singer have made several great films in the past. As i was in Stockholm, just one week after the release of this film, i had to go and see it. is this the epic movie about the band Queen we were hoping for, or is this an epic failure that should be avoided ?

The year is 1970, and a young man named Farrokh Bulsara ( Rami Malek ) works at Heathrow Airport as a bagage handler. He is a a college student, filled with passion for life. One night Farrokh goes out to check out a live band called Smile. After the show he goes up and talk to band members Roger Taylor ( Ben Hardy ) and Brian May ( Gwilym Lee ). The band needs a new singer, and Farrokh knows he is the right one. After some positive live reactions with  a brand new singer, Roger, Brian and John Deacon ( Joseph Mazzello ) realize that they might be up for something big. The form the band Queen, as Farrokh changes his name to Freddie Mercury. Queen becomes very popular, and their music is finding it´s way across the world. When they are about to record their third album named A Night At The Opera, their whole world is about to change with the song Bohemian Rhapsody. From this day on, Queen is now one of the biggest rock bands worldwide. But Freddie is struggling with his personal life, when he realize that he is homosexual. Can he keep this secret hidden, and still keep his career going without any scandals ?

To all those critics out there that have been negative to this film, i have something to say.

If you think this film is bad, you clearly don´t know what a quality film looks like. Bohemian Rhapsody is a film made for Freddie Mercury fans, and for Queen fans as well. But even if you have not heard the band before that much, i guarantee you will fall for this film. This is a film that will touch your heart, and make you realize why Freddie Mercury is such a legend. Rami Malek in the lead role as Freddie Mercury is phenomenal and deliver a really powerful performance. It feels like you are watching Freddie on stage, and when you can make an acting performance that good, you know you made it. He manage to use the right body language, the right stage presence that we all remember made Freddie special. But that´s not all, the rest of the band actors do their performances really well. Roger Taylor played by Ben Hardy ( known from X-Men: Apocalypse ) is a great choice as Queen´s legendary drummer, Brian May played by Gwilym Lee ( known for the TV series Midsomer Murders ), does his best acting performance so far in his career as the guitar master. John Deacon played by Joseph Mazzello ( known for his perfomrnace in The Social Network ) also does a great job portraying the legendary bass player. All of these four actors on stage shows you that you can make a really good music biographical film about a band, with the right chemistry. The story takes us all the way back to before the band recorded their first album, and how they managed to make a powerful impact on the British rock scene. We also get to see some of the more personal issues that Freddie Mercury faced in his life, such as the relationship between him and Mary Austin ( played wonderful by actress Lucy Boynton ). I also enjoy seeing the scenes where we get to see Freddie trying to deal with the fact that he knows he is homosexual. You also get a sense that this must have been difficult for Freddie, to try and tell his family about who he really is. The film does jump forward to different periods of the bands career, so you do get to see different parts of Queen´s musical catalogue. I know that some people have reacted that everything may not be correct, like the cameo from Mike Myers as the EMI Executive Ray Foster. But for me that´s ok, that part is done well anyway, and a funny part of the film as well. There are a few other details i know some other people have complained about, but i look at his film as a very strong portrait of Freddie Mercury and the legacy he left us. Director Bryan Singer have made a very powerful and interesting view inside the life of the band Queen, and their magical years. If you love their music, you are going to love this film. An Oscar Academy Award for Rami Malek should be announced, for delivering such a powerful movie for the whole world to enjoy.

Rant: DDDD