Few bands were as innovative and captivating as Queen, and “Bohemian Rhapsody” does a stand-out job of capturing as much of Queen and Freddie Mercury as possible in a film that is musical, emotional and just plain awesome.

This is as much a movie about Mercury as it is about Queen, filled with the heart, soul, fun and unique style that defined a genre. Rami Malek (“Mr. Robot”) nails his performance of the iconic queer rock star, from his physical appearance to his fashion and his flamboyant personality.

That is not to say, though, that the other characters are some sort of side show, which is what a lot of other biopics get wrong. Every character in the film is unique and compelling, seen clearly in the relationship between bandmates Brian May (Gwiylm Lee, “The Last Witness”), Roger Taylor (Ben Hardy, “Only the Brave”) and John Deacon (Joseph Mazzello, “Undrafted”). Lucy Boynton (“Murder on the Orient Express”) plays a caring companion to Mercury, and Allen Leech’s (“The Hunter’s Prayer”) performance as the manipulative Paul Prenter is scarily realistic. Even though he does not appear much, Aaron McCusker (“Incoming”) as Jim Hutton is a romantic partner worth rooting for.

Biopics about musicians understandably tend to have a certain formula: star gets discovered, gets a few hits, goes big, becomes conceited, has a downfall full of character flaws, makes up for those flaws and finally ends their story with one last hoorah having changed for the better. “Bohemian Rhapsody” follows this formula almost precisely and is arguably one of the best executions of such a formula ever put to film. Everything that is introduced has a payoff later in the story, leaving the audience feeling satisfied and appreciated for paying attention. The general pacing of it was smooth, making the two-hour runtime go by fast.

Those who were hoping for a totally accurate depiction of Queen and its iconic lead singer will likely be disappointed, but that is mostly their fault for going into a biopic expecting a documentary. The film certainly takes some liberties with Queen’s real story, especially with the ending of the iconic Live Aid concert in 1985, but it is hard to argue the changes do not make for a better overall film. The changes in the timeline make the ending powerful, riveting and heart-wrenching.

As exciting as the performance is, this scene is also where the film has its one flaw. The concert scene does a great job of tying up all loose ends and shows a lot of great character growth, but it simply goes on too long. The audience hears earlier in the film that the band got 20 minutes in this epic concert, and the movie gave the audience all 20 minutes. All the band’s other songs were brilliantly woven in, with just enough of an origin story and bits of performances to get the audience pumped and keep the story moving steadily forward. This last concert, however, plays song after song in full, and viewers may understandably start looking at their watch for the first time during the film.

Despite the slow moment, the movie still captures the spirit of Mercury and Queen, and that is all that matters. Those who love Freddie Mercury so much that accuracy is of high importance should stay home, and same for those that cannot even tolerate some well-portrayed LGBTQ+ culture. But for those looking for some great songs, relatable characters, a tight story and an all-around great time, this is the perfect movie for you.

Image from 20th Century Fox via YouTube