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Writer's pictureMax Markowitz

Rocketman

The rare beauty of a film like Rocketman is that its ability to cinematically resonate with audiences is not determined on their ages. The young people of today's generation seem to have jumped just as high as those who grew up listening to Elton John. The breathtaking view Rocketman gives so passionately and gives good reason for the audience to jump as high as Mr. John did in so many of his incredible performance...


Taron Edgerton has not been in Hollywood for very long so if you didn't know of him before Rocketman, you definitely will now. His fearless performance as Elton John reminds me very much of an eclipse. The bright enough to blind you but their beauty leaves you incapable of staying away. Edgerton’s Elton won’t so much blind you rather than leave you frozen by the devastation he endures. The emotional hardships of his life will tear you apart and part of what makes Rocketman so brilliant is that it doesn't shy away from the depth of just how much affliction he’s in.


He also has some very happy moments and Edgerton shares them with all of us. Rocketman is an ice cream sundae of a film and Edgerton is a very large amount of whipped cream. I always say the best thing about films are the characters. Mostly, it’s because of how interesting they can be but these past couple years, I’ve learned that feeling such passionate love towards characters enriches your life on a very emotional level. It’s almost paternal. It’s like cradling a small quiet sleeping newborn in your arms. Taron Edgerton has borne me another cinematic child to love. That alone takes all his talented waters out of the ocean. So far, he’s given the years best performance.

The supporting performances of Jamie Bell, Richard Madden and Bryce Dallas Howard are just as masterful and greatly contributes to how Rocketman continuously unravels. As much as Rocketman is about the music, it’s more about Elton and the individuals he’s surrounded with and what these associations do to him on an emotional level. This is all the more reason Paramount was lucky to have such an amazing cast.


Most films about real icons can always expect backlash regarding accuracy. While Rocketman hasn't been lucky enough to outrun this, you can take comfort in the fact that Elton John is an executive producer of the film and he absolutely loves it. Not to sound disrespectful but Rocketman is about Elton John so his opinion is the biggest if not the only one that matters.


Rocketman is laid out as a Broadway musical. There’s story but there’s also culture and life submerging you from every direction. Had Rocketman not been a musical fantasia, it would have resonated entirely different with me. Music saved Elton John not just professionally but mentally. It took him somewhere else and Rocketman gives audiences the luxury of seeing the world through his eyes at the times that he did.


Overall, Rocketman is a love letter to Elton John’s fans. Rocketman gives us all a chance to know Elton John better than we ever did before. You can say goodbye to who you were regarding him to be before seeing Rocketman because if you have, that person’s dead forever.

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