First reviews for Bohemian Rhapsody are mixed, but praise Rami Malek

First reviews for Bohemian Rhapsody, the Freddie Mercury/Queen biopic, have arrived online, and they’re mixed. Critics complained about the film’s lack of depth and by-the-numbers approach to Mercury’s complex life, but praised star Rami Malek’s performance.

The film currently sits at 54% on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, with the critics’ consensus stating, “Bohemian Rhapsody hits a handful of high notes, but as an in-depth look at a beloved band, it offers more of a medley than a true greatest hits collection.”

David Ehrlich of IndieWire wrote, “The critical failure of Bohemian Rhapsody is that, 134 minutes after the lights go down, the members of Queen just seem like four blokes who’ve been processed through the rusty machinery of a Hollywood biopic.”

“With a performance as commanding as Rami Malek’s at its center, why isn’t Bohemian Rhapsody a better movie?” Variety’s Owen Gleiberman wondered.

Meanwhile, writing for The Wrap, Alonso Duralde in a positive review noted, “An object example of how a film can be entertaining and even exhilarating without being particularly good, Bohemian Rhapsody has the driving energy of a stadium anthem and the fizzy meaninglessness of a bubblegum pop song.”

The film was embroiled in its fair share of pre-release controversy, when director Bryan Singer was fired off the project in December 2017. It was reported that Singer had been at odds with the cast, most notably Malek, had often failed to show up on set. He was replaced by Dexter Fletcher a week later, but retains sole director credit on the film. Singer has also been named in the #MeToo movement in Hollywood, and recently posted a pre-emptive denial of allegations to be made in a future story.

Bohemian Rhapsody will be released on November 2.

Follow @htshowbiz for more