Takes a few liberties with the facts (songs out of place, AIDS diagnosis timeline) but does a good job of telling the story of both the band and the singer. Malek will get an Oscar nod. [Reply]
Originally Posted by JD10367:
Takes a few liberties with the facts (songs out of place, AIDS diagnosis timeline) but does a good job of telling the story of both the band and the singer. Malek will get an Oscar nod.
Wife and I saw it last night. Acting was good and music was great. I think a lot of poetic license was used to add to the drama of a two hour movie. For example Queen was not broken up when Live Aid was announced and they did not need a lot of rehearsing to do the show. But very good nonetheless for a Queen fan. [Reply]
Originally Posted by underEJ:
I really enjoyed it. I can see both sides of the critical argument, though, that it was too light in order to get the pg13, but I really didn't care. It was fun and ultimately Freddie Mercury only ever wanted to entertain people. There are lots of criticisms about the license taken with the truth and timeline, and I can see those too, but again they didn't bother me. Nobody was going to be able to make a movie that was absolutely true because most of those he confided his truths to, including Queen members, have been protecting his privacy loyally all this time and continue to do so. Everyone else has an agenda. His creative process was his true satisfaction and he did his best work with his band. The movie is very true to that.
I keep trying to imagine what the darker movie everyone is clamoring for would look like and I think it would suffer from the same primary criticism I have of this one. It is just too much to cover. The time required to slow down and build depth into the character would leave little time for the musical story and the rest of the band. It would have been very sad or even worse just an exercise in shaming him. I don't want to watch that.
I went in hoping for a stylized (definitely not real) portrait of a very unusual band with some great concert moments to get lost in (I regularly watch Queen Rock Montreal) and a portrayal of Freddie that was not a cartoon. Overall, I think that is what it is. I do wish they had paid a little bit more for some better crowd effects for Live Aid.
I read that the live aid crowd was real footage with a few digital alterations to remove some banners etc [Reply]
Originally Posted by mikeyis4dcats.:
I read that the live aid crowd was real footage with a few digital alterations to remove some banners etc
The crowd flyovers and crane shots are vfx when the camera is doing something more modern or cinematic versus the broadcast style footage. Live aid only had tower and side cameras that could pan and tilt but not move in space for the big wide shots in the real broadcast. There were also some scale issues where the stadium would suddenly feel much smaller, or the crowd would feel sparse with a lot of space between each person. Maybe in a 60million dollar biopic, it is unnecessary, but seeing as they made the scene the showpiece, I would have liked to see a bit more money on the screen in that bit, but a minor gripe to be sure. [Reply]
I'll always remember when I went to go see a Billy Squire concert and Queen was the other act. Never heard of them. Freddie and the group blew me away. I was hooked. [Reply]
Originally Posted by MahiMike:
I'll always remember when I went to go see a Billy Squire concert and Queen was the other act. Never heard of them. Freddie and the group blew me away. I was hooked.
That's an incredible story,I mean at that time frame of popularity Queen was no doubt the headliner. [Reply]
I thought this was about as good as a music career biopic could get. I'm so glad Ali G turned this role down. I'm also happy he forced the issue and told the band that their script wouldn't work. The film does really well showing Freddy in decadence but spares the audience from graphic depravity. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Fishpicker:
I thought this was about as good as a music career biopic could get. I'm so glad Ali G turned this role down. I'm also happy he forced the issue and told the band that their script wouldn't work. The film does really well showing Freddy in decadence but spares the audience from graphic depravity.
I think Sasha wouldn't have been right either, but you're backwards. he quit because Queen wanted THIS movie, not a more salacious one. [Reply]
I saw Billy Squier in '82 and he was blown away by the opening act, but it was only Saga doing the World's Apart tour. I was suppose to see Queen in St. Petersburg at the Sunshine Speedway May14, 1975, but when I was getting ready to go they announced the concert was cancelled because the stage wasn't big enough and strong enough to support the band's equipment, per the Fire Marshall. Our local Tampa/St. Pete rock station played Queen's first album a lot, especially the song "Liar" so they would of had a good size crowd. I gave the movie 10 Stars! [Reply]
