PIC of the Week – Rocketman
Article series by Ray Schillaci
This week, Paramount released the rousing fantasy/biopic of Sir Elton John. The film does not correctly follow the man’s rise to fame or the order of his songs, but that’s excused since right upfront the filmmakers and studio have already warned you this is part “fantasy.” Thanks to all for making such a refreshing look at this musical biopic.
After viewing Rocketman, I couldn’t help thinking of last year’s Bohemian Rhapsody. Other than a grand recreation of Live Aid and Rami Malek’s uncanny transformation as Freddie Mercury, the rest of that film fell flat for me. Rhapsody came across as just another by-the-numbers biopic that we’ve seen all too often; struggle, fame, drugs. One might as well just watch all the versions of A Star is Born and they will get the same story. We get it, the struggling artist from a dysfunctional family suddenly gets lucky with a breakout performance and quickly descends into sex and drugs with their life out of control, eventually finding redemption or dying. Once in awhile we get a brilliant performance from whoever is playing our lead character, but the story still feels the same.
But, every so often we get something that really breaks out of the mold and makes that struggle, the demons to battle, and the redemption or death feel entirely new. Oliver Stone did it with The Doors. Hal Ashby had great subject matter that rose above it all in Bound for Glory, the Woody Guthrie story. William Wyler with Barbara Streisand nailed the Fanny Brice biopic, Funny Girl, with class. And, Milos Forman delivered a classic tale with Amadeus. Now, you can add Rocketman to that list of great music biopics.
Elton John’s story is told from a rehab center. He takes us back to his life as a child, his struggles as a teen and a young adult searching for the love he may never find if he doesn’t start loving himself. Throughout it all, we witness his passion for music, but he’s only half of the musical genius until he meets Bernie Taupin. Taupin cannot write music, but his ability to write lyrics is amazing. John can’t write a word to his music. When they meet in the film it’s wonderfully organic. The chemistry flows beautifully.
Yes, we get Elton’s rise to fame, his many addictions to drugs, alcohol, sex, shopping, and his eventual recovery. But, the style in which this tale is told is absolutely endearing and show-stopping. At times, the musical fantasy sequences nearly reach the Ken Russell watermark (Tommy, Lisztomania). The energy of the production numbers reminded me of the excitement The Greatest Showman generated. This may not be for everybody taste, but there is an audience out there for a rousing musical and Rocketman soars.
Where Bohemian Rhapsody practically curtailed Freddie Mercury’s homosexuality, Rocketman has no qualms having Elton get down with his lovers. One in particular may be uncomfortable for some viewers. After all, Rhapsody was more than careful with their PG-13 while Rocketman wears its “R” rating quite proudly.
Alongside a fabulous production and brilliant direction by Dexter Fletcher (Eddie the Eagle), Taron Egerton is spot-on as Elton John. Egerton who was so impressive in Kingsman: The Secret Service not only delivers a wonderfully in-depth performance as Elton, he also does his own singing and dances up a storm. In the end, Egerton and Fletcher pull out all the stops to bring us to near tears. To some, it may feel a bit cheesy, but it’s the kind of cheesy that makes us feel so good.
For those of you who are lucky enough to have the latest visual upgrade to Dolby Vision this 4K presentation makes fine use of it. The color palette will dazzle viewers. The film’s such a great representation of Elton’s flash. There is a noticeable difference in quality towards the end of the film looking like an old MTV video, but that cannot be helped because that was the intention of the filmmakers. But, it is a little jarring after watching nearly two hours of brilliance on the screen. Those still working with a 1080p picture will not be disappointed. The difference is the 4K just pops out those colors in a dynamic way.
The Dolby Atmos mix will rock your surround system. The pure energy from the music numbers will have you want to play them back over and over again. The re-creation of the sound quality at The Troubadour is uncanny. You feel as if you are actually at the venue at that time (for those of us lucky enough to remember). The nicest part of all, with all the bombastic musical sequences, we still get clear and clean dialogue.
Rocketman’s extras come fully loaded with the best part being a Jukebox feature that allows you to skip right to the film’s songs, and a lyric companion mode so you can sing-a-long. Below is the rest of the fun with well over two hours of bonus features:
• Extended Musical Numbers
• Deleted and Extended Scenes
• It’s Going to be a Wild Ride: Creative Vision
• Becoming Elton John: Taron’s Transformation
• Larger Than Life
• Full Tilt
• Music Reimagined
Lowest Price – $27.95 – Amazon and Walmart
