Review: Rocketman Tells the Poppy and Provocative Story of Elton John’s Life
The film is currently available on Digital and will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on August 27.
Photo: Paramount Pictures
Very few music icons deserve the Bohemian Rhapsody-level biopic treatment Queen received. Elton John, Michael Jackson and Madonna come to mind. Thankfully, John has already received it with Rocketman, a fantastical, yet sobering retelling of his life as a pop superstar.
A fully-game Taron Egerton absolutely throws himself into the role of Elton John, from every dance break to each dark, drug-addled moment. His performance as buoyant in the right places as it is nuanced in others, and he sings live and dances with gusto.
Films with mass appeal and success have never been as bold as Rocketman, which includes the first gay sex scene ever in a mainstream film. The scene follows the classic “show, don’t tell” rule in a provocative way, leaving little to the imagination between Egerton and Richard Madden’s characters in bed.
The plot follows Egerton’s John through struggling to come out, a sham heterosexual marriage, shameless drug use and an abusive relationship with his manager (Madden) on the down low. In all its subversive charm, Rocketman finds producer Elton John still breaking boundaries decades into his illustrious career.
