The announcement of a Queen movie tribute had me excited, but bold ideas are always risky at the same time, so I was not sure how it would play out. I had the chance to finally see Bohemian Rhapsody last week. The bio-pic accomplished what it meant to, and delivered a shining performance, one that Freddie Mercury would be proud of.

Bohemian Rhapsody is packed with performances, replicated spot on, move by move, and keeps the audience engaged at all times. It starts with Mercury, portrayed by Rami Malek, at the Live Aid performance in 1985, commanding Wembley Stadium. It then reverts back to 1970, his ‘humble beginnings,’ with the stereotypically strict parents of a rock star questioning their sons desire to sneak out and see bands, where he later meets the rest of his future Queen bandmates who have conveniently just lost their lead singer. The movie features all of the fan favorite Queen songs, and then some. The audience experiences a roller coaster of emotions: from the elatedness during the performances to the heartbreaking loneliness a musician experiences while on the road, with nothing to hold them down.

The standout points of the movie, to me, were the performance scenes. Freddie Mercury’s eccentric wardrobe is recreated flawlessly, and Malek has the body language down perfectly. The directing is all over the place, and the irony is not lost on me that the song that the movie gets its title from, Bohemian Rhapsody, is too, but in a way that works. As I left the movie theater, my younger sister said, “I want to listen to Queen’s whole discography now,” and this seems to prove that the bio-pic’s creators accomplished their goal, to carry the legacy on.

I would recommend the movie and give it a 3 out of 5 stars.