Rocketman Review

Sex, drugs and rock-and-roll: that’s what is on offer in the musical biopic based on the life of Elton John.

Rocketman follows Elton John (Taron Egerton) from his young days as a music protégé to superstardom. On his journey he collaborates with songwriter Bernie Taupin (Jamie Bell), falls in love with a man who uses him, and enter into a spiral of drink and substance abuse.

Rocketman comes out seven months after the release of Bohemian Rhapsody and bares a lot of similarities. Both were films about flamboyant but closeted performers who partied too hard, both film productions had the involvement of the artist, and they even featured a Game of Thrones actor playing the music manager John Reid. Both had the involvement of Dexter Fletcher – he directed the reshoots for Bohemian Rhapsody as well as directing Rocketman.

Rocketman does share some plot points with Bohemian Rhapsody. The biggest being when the lead comes out to a loved one and the reaction being they are cursed to a lonely life. Both films also show the original manager for the singer getting screwed over by a lover – in Bohemian Rhapsody John Reid gets screwed over, the Rocketman version does the screwing.

There are differences – Rocketman isn’t a carbon copy of Bohemian Rhapsody. The biggest difference was the styling. Rocketman was a full-blown musical instead of a traditional biopic. It is pretending to be factual like Bohemian Rhapsody was. Plus the songs were made as big song-and-dance numbers and they are used to tell the story. Many songs were used to show the passage of time like Elton and John Reid going on a shopping spree or Elton getting injected with drugs so he can go out and perform.

The musical numbers were able to be crowd-pleasing, toe-tapping moments whilst also be willing to show the darker side of Elton’s life. Fletcher, who already has experience in the musical genre, does craft some well-choreographed sequences like with the opening number ‘The Bitch is Back’ and ‘Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting.’ It was a throwback to older musicals.

The musical format means Rocketman did not have to be factual. The best way to describe the film was it wanted to be true to Elton’s story but didn’t need to true to the fact. The film makes no bones about Elton’s addictions, his insecurities, and he being crude to some of the people around them. Rocketman was given a 15 rating in the UK compared to Bohemian Rhapsody‘s 12A – this film was much more willing to show the impact of the drugs, partying, and sex. Elton also shares Freddie Mercury journey towards self-acceptance. They were extraverts on the stage but they had to come to terms with their sexuality and family issues.

One of the first songs in the film was “I Want Love” and that boils down the theme of the film. Elton’s parents were uncaring, his father (Stephen Mackintosh) was cold, distance man who tells Elton ‘don’t be soft.’ And his mother (Bryce Dallas Howard) was a woman who usually had a drink in her hand and wasn’t particularly affectionate. This leads to Elton having casual sex and enters into an abusive relationship with John Reid (Richard Madden.) One of the most emotional moments in the film was when Elton visits his father as an adult and sees he is more loving towards his younger half-brothers.

Rocketman had a great cast with Egerton doing a fantastic job. Egerton is a talented actor and singer and he was able to capture Elton’s pain, awkwardness, and showmanship. Plus he captures Elton’s biting wit in the film’s framing device. It’s a role that confirms his star status. Madden’s star also rises as John Reid. The Scottish actor goes against type in a villainous role – playing a sharply dressed and skilled businessman who was abusive towards his client. He was a snake of a character. Howard also deserves praise for performing with a convincing English accent and was unrecognisable without her signature red hair.

Rocketman managed to walk the fine line of being a crowd-pleasing musical and a hard-hitting drama about a star. It was a near perfect storm of entertainment.