Rocketman reviews: LIVELY film fails to stand out despite splendour

Rocketman is billed as an “epic musical fantasy about the uncensored human story of Sir Elton John’s breakthrough years”. The film – debuted at the Cannes Film Festival this year – comes just seven months after Bohemian Rhapsody, which told the story of another British glam rock icon, Freddie Mercury. Dexter Fletcher – who was drafted to complete direction on the Freddie Mercury “musical fantasy” – took the helm the film as director. Eddie the Eagle star Taron Egerton takes the lead as Elton John, and critics have given the film a warm welcome.

Rocketman is due for an official release next week on May 22, so the first impressions for the film have just come in.

Variety Fair reviewer Richard Lawson was less impressed than other critics, as he said the film lacked enlightenment, preferring to plug entertainment over in-depth character analysis.

He said: “It’s a satisfying and even rousing film at times, but it doesn’t provide much enlightenment.

“While all of the costuming (meticulously re-created by Julian Day) is deliciously silly and garish, we never really learn why John is wearing it.”

“Or, more important, how he is. The mechanics of John’s shift from shyness to splendour isn’t articulated in Rocketman. Because, I guess, all that psychological explication would get in the way of the easy celebration.”

However, other reviewers were more complimentary.

BBC reviewer Nicholas Barber largely considered Rocketman alongside Bohemian Rhapsody, saying it is impossible to watch without weighing the two together.

Despite finding points in the film which scrambled to deliver “superficial” points, the reviewer concludes Rocketman is “irresistible”.

He gives the film three stars, calling it a “foot-stomping, big-hearted comic epic that should push Fletcher on to the directors’ A-list, and push Elton John’s albums back into the charts.”

The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw called Rocketman “an honest, heartfelt tribute to Elton John’s music and his public image.”

Telegraph reviewer Robbie Collin said the film was “a heart-racing, toe-tapping, all-glitter-cannons-blazing triumph.”

On aggregate sites, Rocketman is above top entries over the last two months.

The film has settled on a score of 69 on Metacritic, slightly behind John Wick: Parabellum on 73 and Avengers: Infinity War on 78.

On Rotten Tomatoes, Rocketman has a score of 94 percent, with 16 reviews counted by the site.

Each reviewer gave the film an average of three stars, noting the film was highly entertaining but failed to stand out.

GamesRadar reviewer Jordan Farley said: “For all Fletcher’s sincere efforts to distinguish Rocketman from the countless other musical biopics that have come before, it’s a film that hits too many familiar beats to ever truly dazzle.”