Rocketman and the Jets

It’s gratifying that musically inclined movies are making a comeback of sorts.  After a long dry spell, we’ve seen three commercially successful and well-received films in ‘A Star is Born,’ ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and the subject of this review, ‘Rocketman,’ the semi-biographical musical on the rise of Sir (yes, he’s knighted) Elton John, within the last nine months alone.  And a fourth one is coming soon in the form of the off-beat Beatles fantasy rom-com ‘Yesterday’ due out later this month.  Yeah, name that song ‘Hey Dude’ Ed Sheeran.

 

The job of portraying Elton Hercules John (which sounds so much less mundane than Reginald Kenneth Dwight) fell to “Kingsman” Taron Egerton, who rebounded from the disaster that was ‘Robin Hood’ with all the extravagant excess and style that playing the British piano-man required.  Not only can Egerton “carry a tune,” he displayed a certain showmanship and charisma that the titular Rocketman would certainly approve.  Not to mention he’s better looking than the real deal.  Unlike the excellent ‘Bohemian Rhapsody,’ however, ‘Rocketman’ recounts Elton’s life and success through some of his most popular and catchy hits (though my fav ‘Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding’ is noticeably absent probably due to its length), all in the backdrop of a group therapy session in which he’s dressed in a bright red Halloween devil costume.

 

‘Rocketman’ is a fantastical musical journey through the life of Elton John with entertaining song-and-dance numbers throughout that’s undeniably and infectiously fun, even if it ultimately lacked a certain gravity or substance.  But for one whose taste in music is by-and-large defined in the late 1970’s and throughout the 1980’s, it’s a nostalgic ride well worth embarking on. 

Grade: A-