Elton John has had a career that has spanned decades, millions of albums sold, packed venues, awards, and more than a few headlines. In the new film “Rocketman” audiences get a look behind the man thanks to the amazing and Oscar worthy portrayal by Taron Egerton. The film opens with a flamboyantly dressed John entering rehab in one of his stage costumes. As he opens up with his group, he shares the story of his childhood as a shy child who is desperate to have his father show him any signs of approval or affection. When it is discovered that he has talent with the piano; his grandmother encou... read the rest.

There’s so much that works about ‘Rocketman’, so the fact it never fully commits to its musical fantasy conceit is a bit of a disappointment. It ends up aligning most with Julie Taymor’s curious 2007 Beatles musical ‘Across the Universe’ - a really great idea and approach to the work of a musical artist that never finds its feet or the bravery to fully be itself. It’s still a moving and occasionally stirring portrait of Elton John, and while the lack of emotional or narrative detail in the screenplay never allows Taron Egerton to fully unleash his potential, he’s still a terrific Elton John and... read the rest.

Rocketman tries to walk a line between the paint-by-numbers musician biopic bog standard, and epic musical fantasy. A lot of the time when a movie tries to be a blend of two things, it ends up being neither. Rocketman, conversely, ends up being both, just never at the same time. It's basically two movies, and that epic musical fantasy movie I was talking about that's in there, that's a great movie. Unfortunately, the other one, is not so much. I'm still gonna come away giving it a recommendation, because there is enough in there to mean that I enjoyed it, especially in the core casting,... read the rest.

I am honestly sort of split down the middle here. I mean, I THOUGHT it was going to be about Elton John... and it was...

...kind of...

... but it was also a lot more fantasy and fiction than it was a biopic, and had I known that I might not have bothered watching it. I might have braced myself for something that isn't really realistic and more dream-sequence than straight film.

So it's not at all what I was hoping for and that did kill it for me. I just wanted to watch a movie about Elton John. Hopefully see a fan movie about Elton John. Especially since I think that Bohemian Rhapsody... read the rest.