Rocketman

Wow! Truly AMAZING film, befitting of the one and only, Elton John. Taron Egerton’s performance was FANTASTIC - he was able to show not only the brilliance of the tremendously talented showman, but also the depth of his being, the nuances of his personality, the vast differences between the man on stage and the one at home (not that he had much time there). And, Egerton actually sang the catalog (can’t say that of Malik). This is a character film, an onion of many layers, just like Elton, himself. At no point should this biographical look be compared to Bohemian Rhapsody, anymore than you would compare a Queen concert to an Elton John concert. These are 2 very different artists, and as such, the 2 films reflect that. Just as you would expect, Rocketman has a lot more flash and pizzazz, and illustrates the fantastical nature of Elton John. Additionally, this film is told from Elton John’s POV, where Bohemian Rhapsody was told from the perspective of the band. Lastly, Rocketman does NOT put the music in order of release date, at times this may coincide with time of release, but rather uses the tracks that will best evoke the sentiment of each scene, deepening the feelings for the viewer. That said, if you have not watched the film yet, stop reading, go watch it, twice - first with the captions on (so you can sing along like karaoke), then off so you can digest the whole of its depth. Afterward, come back and read the remainder of this humble review with SPOILERS below..... Rocketman opens, with Elton John in full stage gear of the shiny red devil storming his way into rehab and stomping right on into his first group meeting, where he is asked about his childhood, and surreptitiously lies as anyone does the first time, but eludes to the reality - the condemnation from his father, the condescension of his mother, the lack of affection, and the only positive role model, his maternal grandmother. It isn’t long before you see how easily music becomes both his escape and his hope to build a loving relationship with his father, who abandons him, as well as how easily playing music comes to him. After seeing an advertisement in the newspaper, he goes to an interview at a producer’s office, who is intrigued by Elton, and introduces him to another hopeful who writes lyrics, Bernie Taupin. From there a fast friendship develops between the musician and lyricist. Let me just say, everyone deserves a friend like Bernie Taupin - someone who truly gets you and isn’t afraid to tell you about yourself. After being evicted from their apartment, when Elton, tells his girlfriend that he’s gay, they end up living with Elton’s mother, where over breakfast one morning, ‘Your Song’ is written (truth as stated by Bernie Taupin), and from there the fun never stops, beginning with the first live performance at the Troubadour to the moment he enters rehab (remember the songs only illustrate the feeling of the scenes). You see the shy, Elton John, become the performer, pushing himself outside of his comfort zone, in order to get in front of the audience night after night, while day after day a tape of condemnation and condescension plays over and over in his mind, feeding his insecurities. In order to keep going, he self soothes with shopping, weed, alcohol, cocaine, sex, pills, food, absolutely anything that will bring him comfort, as he feels starved of love/affection/self-worth. And, so you watch Elton John spiral, break down, get help, then rise again, like a Rocketman. Through every moment, the acting is superb, the musical arrangements poignant and befitting, the costumes resemblant of the originals. While keeping true to Elton John, it is NOT an exact duplication of his life, it is a truly amazing and fantastical adaptation, with a terrific cast. Each character well developed, and a stunning performance from Taron Egerton, the man can sing and does it well. Rocketman is an original, just like Elton John.

This is a amazing movie! Love sir Elton. watched it with my mum who is from Essex London. She tried working with him once she said but was so blown away by his piano skills she couldnt stop watching him play haha she to was a piano player. Beautiful movie! One huge thing that was a huge bummer, and it is with many films I rent from Amazon, the volume was so low i had to have my tv cranked and even then it was hard to hear. Don know why so many amazon movies are like this.

Rocketman is a very different take on a biopic, loosely telling a fantasy version of the life of Elton John. It was directed by Dexter Fletcher and stars Taron Egerton as Elton John, Jamie Bell as his musical partner Bernie Taupin, Richard Madden as Elton's manager and lover John Reid, and Bryce Dallas Howard as Elton's mother. As one of the producers said in the behind-the-scenes material, it is a biopic that is not a biopic, and a musical that is not a musical. It starts out with Elton in rehab, relating events from his life at a group meeting. Then we see the events play out in flashbacks that every so often breaks out in musical numbers. The songs used in the movie (mostly his songs from the 1970s) were selected from Elton's vast catalog of music but were not exactly tied to the time frame that the events in his life actually occurred. For example, the movie shows the song Saturday Night's all right for Fighting being played before Elton and Taupin ever meet. The songs were used mostly to fit with particular scenes in the story, not to convey when in his career they were actually released. Also, the movie does not tell events exactly as they happened or when they happened. For example, the final act of the movie shows Elton leaving rehab using the song I'm Still Standing which was released in 1983, yet he actually went to rehab in 1990. Even though the movie is a more "fantasy" telling of Elton's life, using actual events but often times putting a different spin on them, it does convey the mess his life was as he was coming to terms with his sexuality, using and abusing drugs and alcohol, and his issues with food, as well as his rather horrible family. Bryce Dallas Howard does a wonderful job playing Elton's mother and certainly gives the impression that she saw him just as a meal-ticket. For those who get the 4k set, the movie looks and sounds great in the UHD format. The UHD disc only has the movie, and all the extras are on the regular Blu-Ray disc. Those include about 20 minutes of deleted scenes, a handful of making-of featurettes, a version of the movie that will display the song lyrics during the musical numbers, and a version of the movie that just plays the musical numbers. All-in-all a very good amount of bonus material for those who like to watch it. Overall, the movie is very good. While I do think it would have worked as a more "traditional" biopic, without having musical numbers where everyone in the scene breaks out into song, I get why the choice was made to do it that way. Taron Egerton not only does a great acting job playing Elton, but he also sang all the songs, and not just lip-synching to the real songs. This allowed them to re-arrange the songs to help tell the story yet still keep the character of the original songs. For many of the songs, they were arranged to start differently and then transition to sound more like the album versions. While I cannot say that the movie is going to appeal to everyone, if you are a fan of Elton John's music and/or know a bit about his life, it is definitely worth checking out.

Adoro le sue canzoni ma non conoscevo il suo passato un po' turbolento. Film a musical ben riuscito, ti fa cantare e ballare grazie alla sua energia! Vivamente consigliato!

Très bon film sur la vie d'Elton John

Nothing else to add the 4k disc is superb as is the film.

Taron Egerton is always worth watching. For a good-looking young man, he doesn't mind appearing in the most unflattering guises to service a role - often the sign of a dedicated character actor. He certainly manages to embody Elton Hercules John with the minimum of make-up effects. And sings the songs to boot. Unlike the recent Freddie Mercury/Queen bio-pic, this is more of a musical where the characters often break into a song and dance routine during the drama. In fact, it is exactly how I imagined the flamboyant Elton John would want his story depicted! It's certainly entertaining, with laughs and tears and the musical genius of John/Taupin threaded throughout.

Soy fan del legendario Elton John y cuando vi que su biopic había sido restaurada en formato 4K Ultra HD, la compré de inmediato. Se ve mejor que nunca, con una calidad de imagen fuera de serie. Llegó en perfectas condiciones, el único inconveniente es que no ya no traía Slipcover