After the Oscars, Review: Bohemian Rhapsody

​Bohemian Rhapsody is 2018’s biggest clickbait movie full of biopic mediocrity.

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​The movie's music, of course, pays homage to the band Queen and the legendary singer, Freddie Mercury; but the rest of the film reeks of uneven simplicity and half-baked Wikipedia sources. From the start of its production hell to the firing of director Bryan Singer, to somehow winning over the hearts of many Academy members for musical nostalgia; Bohemian Rhapsody obnoxiously stuck around this award season. This subpar musical biopic has been widely admired by audiences alike, but don’t let that fool you. The film's subject matter on Mercury's sexuality was constructed at a surface level narrative and lacked depth. Sadly, this was one of many problems with the film's on-screen character portrayal. Bohemian Rhapsody also went on to win the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture – Drama and four Academy Awards, including Best Actor (Rami Malek). I am dumbfounded on how this hamstrung musical beat out other far superior dramas like If Beale Street Could Talk, BlacKkKlansman, A Star Is Born, and Black Panther. Nevertheless, The Academy ran with its foolish popularity and even nominated it for Best Picture. A huge slap in the face to other worthier films (Eighth Grade and If Beale Street Could Talk) that were ultimately snubbed.
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​At the end of Sunday night, Bohemian Rhapsody somehow took home the most Academy Awards (4) – Best Actor, Best Editing, Best Sound Editing, and Best Sound Mixing. While the film's editing looked like it was chopped together by a YouTube blogger. Don’t believe me? Watch this video breaking down a god-awful scene. In this scene alone, I counted 60 cuts in 104 seconds. That's 1.8 seconds per shot length. Maybe, Bohemian Rhapsody won Best Editing because they virtually edited out Bryan Singer of their awards narrative and campaign. I will say this, Rami Malek did an exceptional job transforming into the role of Mercury; which is why The Academy awarded him with top honors. Malek was able to wire down Mercury's mannerisms to a T. Malek's engaging performance is the only reason I am giving this ghastly film 1.5 stars out of 5. Furthermore, he put blood, sweat, and tears into the role of a lifetime. Not to mention, Malek had to deal with Singer throwing pieces of electrical equipment at his head. Good gracious. In the end, the film's overall impact left me unsatisfied. This further proves that awarding a movie based on sheer popularity is a horrible idea. Yet, this year's Oscars had a 12% boost in ratings. Are you happy Academy? Bohemian Rhapsody is a movie that I hope fades away into the deep abyss. 

Bohemian Rhapsody is rated PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned). For thematic elements, suggestive material, drug content and language.