I have been an Elton John fan ever since I saw him in concert in 1970 at the Syracuse War Memorial, opening up for “Derek and The Dominoes” when neither act had yet released an album! (I was a medical student at Upstate Medical Center at the time.) This was one of the greatest concerts I ever saw. Just imagine hearing “Your Song” or “Layla” for the first time, when neither song had ever been played on the radio yet! The only reason I even went to the concert was because I was an Eric Clapton fan, and I knew that this was his new group.
I bought all Elton’s albums up to “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” so I know the sequence of when the songs were written. Call me a stickler for details, but when Elton (a.k.a. Reginald Dwight, played by Taron Egerton,) starts singing a song from his third album before he had even recorded any songs, I was annoyed.
The film was directed by Dexter Fletcher, who also directed “Bohemian Rhapsody” (“BR”). There is much to like about “Rocketman,” but most of the last half of the movie is about Elton’s decent into alcoholism, drug abuse, conspicuous consumption, and sexual excess, so I didn’t enjoy the last half of the film. Elton, of course, eventually achieves redemption, but that’s only in the last five minutes. Apparently, Elton was okay with so much of the movie being about his “fall from grace,” since he is an Executive Producer for the film.
The movie is more ambitious than “Bohemian Rhapsody,” takes risks, and is often creative. It’s sort of a hybrid between “La La Land” and “BR.” The film starts out with Elton’s family dynamic, which consists of a walled-off, distant, unloving father and a narcissistic, intermittently-emotionally-available, promiscuous mother. It then moves on to Elton linking-up with his lyricist, Bernie Taupin (Jamie Bell), Elton’s rise to stardom, and the near-destruction of his career and life by his sociopathic manager, Richard Madden (John Reid). There are well-choreographed dance routines to Elton’s hits, sung by Egerton, who does a really fine job acting and singing.
Bottom line, “Rocketman” ‘swings for the fences,’ but winds up with just a single.
I have been an Elton John fan ever since I saw him in concert in 1970 at the Syracuse War Memorial, opening up for "Derek and The Dominoes" when neither act had yet released an album! (I was a medical student at Upstate Medical Center at the time.) This was one of the greatest concerts I ever saw. Just imagine hearing "Your Song" or "Layla" for the first time, when neither song had ever been played on the radio yet! The only reason I even went to the concert was because I was an Eric Clapton fan, and I knew that this was his new group. I bought all Elton's albums up to "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," so I know the sequence of when the songs were written. Call me a stickler for details, but when Elton (a.k.a. Reginald Dwight, played by Taron Egerton,) starts singing a song from his third album before he had even recorded any songs, I was annoyed. The film was directed by Dexter Fletcher, who also directed "Bohemian Rhapsody" ("BR"). There is much to like about "Rocketman," but most of the last half of the movie is about Elton's decent into alcoholism, drug abuse, conspicuous consumption, and sexual excess, so I didn't enjoy the last half of the film. Elton, of course, eventually achieves redemption, but that's only in the last five minutes. Apparently, Elton was okay with so much of the movie being about his "fall from grace," since he is an Executive Producer for the film. The movie is more ambitious than "Bohemian Rhapsody," takes risks, and is often creative. It's sort of a hybrid between "La La Land" and "BR." The film starts out with Elton's family dynamic, which consists of a walled-off, distant, unloving father and a narcissistic, intermittently-emotionally-available, promiscuous mother. It then moves on to Elton linking-up with his lyricist, Bernie Taupin (Jamie Bell), Elton's rise to stardom, and the near-destruction of his career and life by his sociopathic manager, Richard Madden (John Reid). There are well-choreographed dance routines to Elton's hits, sung by Egerton, who does a really fine job acting and singing. Bottom line, "Rocketman" 'swings for the fences,' but winds up with just a single.
Rocketman: Veers Off Course
Rocketman: Veers Off Course
2019-06-11
David
70
7
Great Songs, But Doesn't Soar!
Excellent Performance By Taron Egerton!
User Rating : No Ratings Yet !
7
