Through two decades, Queen was a band that provided entertainment, both musically and through dramatic headlines, to its fans. The songs, the lifestyles, the suspense, and even the joy. The British rock quartet has emmassed fans from everywhere around the globe, and their legacy is even larger than the many crowds they served.

   In the center of the fame, both its glory and its evil, was frontman, vocalist, piano player, songwriter, and partygoer extraordinaire, Freddie Mercury. His larger than life story made for the perfect center of Queen’s new biopic, “Bohemian Rhapsody”.

   The film’s production had trials and tribulations, including a director switch and halt in production. It was important that everything was done right for this movie, considering this was endorsed and worked on by former band members that wanted to honor their friend. Brian May, Queen’s guitarist from day one, was extremely involved in guaranteeing the quality and authenticity of the final product.

   Upon seeing the movie, it’s obvious that it was carefully pieced together and well thought out. Even the casting was incredible. Rami Malek provided a performance of Freddie Mercury that was better than I had anticipated. Ben Hardy’s Roger Taylor was cheeky and fun. Joseph Mazzello’s John Deacon was a quiet and talented one.

   Every performance was excellent, but the standout to me was Gwilym Lee as Brian May. The physical resemblance alone was enough to impress me, but the combination of his voice, body language, and wit had me astonished. Brian May even commented on the impressive work of Lee in several instagram posts and interviews.

   The cast is embellished with shining stars such as Aiden Gillen, Tom Hollander, Allen Leach, Lucy Hale, and Mike Meyers. Meyers in particular stands out for his comedic relief and subtle knocks on the fourth wall. By the film’s climax at Live Aid, these actors had completely immersed themselves in these people and, given these are all real people, that was a great outcome.

   The extraordinary story was brought to life. The costumes, the sets, the script, and even the choreography showed off the hard work of the talented cast and crew.

   Being a diehard fan, I noticed a few jumps in the timeline and minor tweaks to certain moments and events, but changes are just the trouble of putting together any film centered around real life. It leaned toward theatricality.

   There could have been more humanization of Freddie, moments with his cats or how he loved Mary’s kids. It also would have been interesting to go through, even for fifteen minutes, the last few years of Queen and Freddie. Honestly, my only criticism of the film is that there wasn’t enough of it.

   Laughter, smiles, and tears are all standard in watching “Bohemian Rhapsody.” The music is my personal favorite part, with songs from “Another One Bites The Dust” to “Keep Yourself Alive.” I know I added that soundtrack to my Spotify the minute it was released.

   If one wants to know the origin of their favorite Queen song, wants to know what a rockstar’s life was like in the era of excess, or if one is interested in the confliction of Mercury coming to grips with his sexuality in a time of little tolerance, this is entirely worth the trip to the theater. Needless to say, “Bohemian Rhapsody” will rock you.