Considered by many to be one of the greatest rock anthems of all time, “Bohemian Rhapsody” holds a special place in the hearts of Queen fans, and thanks to Fox’s recent Freddie Mercury biopic of the same name, we were able to learn a little bit more about the creative process behind the scenes and why the song has so many high-pitch renditions of “Galileo!”
But while the film has found itself the talk of numerous awards ceremonies already, and recently scored a huge night at the Golden Globes, it hasn’t fared too well with critics. At the time of writing, it currently holds a 62% on Rotten Tomatoes and though that’s far from the end of the world, it does make Bohemian Rhapsody the lowest rated Golden Globe Best Picture winner since 1985’s Out of Africa.
Clearly, though, audiences have seen something in the movie that the critics didn’t and according to Queen guitarist Brian May, the reviewers were basing their opinions on the trailer, rather than the film itself.
“The mistake that critics made was reviewing the trailer instead of reviewing the film,” May said while speaking backstage at the Golden Globes. “[Critics] jumped to conclusions. Once people stake their claim, it’s hard for them to withdraw.”
While that may be true in some sense, it’s still hard to deny that the involvement of both May and drummer Roger Taylor as consultants and producers had an impact on the film’s overlaying gentleness. Indeed, Bohemian Rhapsody feels more like an obituary than a biography at some points, often dealing in half-truths rather than providing context to a man who was notoriously private.
But that’s not to say it’s not an enjoyable movie. Far from it, in fact, and the Live Aid performance towards the end is probably worth the price of admission alone. It seems that many people agree, too, as Bohemian Rhapsody is currently the talk of town and has gone on to become the biggest musical biopic of all-time. And with that Golden Globe win now under its belt, its chances of bagging some Oscar gold are looking better than ever.