Taron Egerton dazzles in a jet-fuelled Elton extravaganza.

Music biopics are funny things. While there are still artists out there deemed worthy of the attention, they’ll always be around, yet enthusiasm for them has certainly ebbed and flowed over time. 

Tricky to pull off at the best of times, the biopic really is a hit and miss genre. For every success, there have been just as many stinkers and, for quite some time now, it’s felt like the well was running dangerously dry. As audiences gradually tire of their many repetitive tropes and often cynical fan-bating, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to get excited about another average rock biopic; however, the genre’s recent burst of energy suggests there’s life left in their story yet.

With the incredible success of last year’s Bohemian Rhapsody no doubt opening many Hollywood studios’ eyes (and wallets) to the biopic’s current moneymaking potential, it feels like the boom has only just begun for the much derided genre. From here, no doubt every rock star and their dog will get the biopic treatment, yet there’s surely few who warrant it quite as much as Sir Elton Hercules John.

For all its ripe cinematic potential, however, there’s not a lot to Elton John’s tale of sex, drugs, more drugs, and rock and roll that we haven’t seen before. To avoid falling into the same trap as a million rock biopics before it, the pressure is certainly on for Rocketman to offer something a bit extraordinary. But, as I’m sure everyone is well aware, extraordinary is exactly what Elton does.

From his years as a child prodigy at the Royal Academy of Music to his fruitful and enduring musical partnership with Bernie Taupin via his infamous struggles with depression, substance abuse, and his sexuality; Rocketman takes us on a whirlwind ride through the life and music of the incomparable Elton John. Told through flashback from his stint in rehab, the film juggles pain, fame, and love to reimagine the pivotal moments of Elton’s life, revealing his tumultuous rise to become one of the biggest and most influential artists on the planet.

I really hate to be the one that goes there but it’s impossible to even consider a conversation about Rocketman without at least a passing mention of Bohemian Rhapsody. While such comparisons feel somewhat reductive, the proximity of these two likeminded films – both in terms of release date and subject matter – is hard to avoid.

I’m sure it’s nothing more than a scheduling fluke to have two such strikingly similar stories of two very similar rock icons released so close to one another, yet the coincidence works nicely as something of a compare and contrast exercise in how (or, rather, how not) to pull off an effective music biopic.

At its core, Rocketman has many of the well-worn biopic components that will be immediately apparent to anyone who’s ever watched one, with Elton John’s arc sharing more than a few similarities with Freddy Mercury’s in Bohemian Rhapsody. Of course, the rise to fame stories of both Reginald Dwight and Farrokh Bulsara share many of the same beats, so these parallels are certainly to be expected, yet the two films’ contrasting approach couldn’t be starker.

While Bohemian Rhapsody travels the biopic route of least resistance with a decidedly basic, stodgily linear structure and a questionable reluctance to get stuck in with the nitty-gritty behind Freddy Mercury, Rocketman goes off in an entirely different direction. It’s an approach that certainly has its fair share of bumps along the way, yet it’s one that winds up infinitely more interesting.

As a wise departure from your average biopic, Rocketman largely dispenses with the traditional linear structure for a far more fluid approach as director Dexter Fletcher utilises the framing device of Elton’s time in rehab to inject the kind of dynamism and energy into the star’s story that it so richly deserves.

Part biopic, part riotous jukebox musical, Rocketman pops off the screen from the word go as classic songs spring into action at key moments in Elton’s life. These memories may well play out in a relatively straightforward fashion, yet their utterly unique presentation and boundless energy make it less a word-for-word life recital and more a sparkling, full-blown Elton John extravaganza.

Bursting out of the blocks with an unabashed old school song and dance number to ‘The Bitch is Back’, Rocketman uses Elton’s music not as cheap karaoke, but as a launch pad for his story, with Dexter Fletcher’s unique musical eye judging the perfect moments to allow life and art to interweave. In what can often be a conservative genre, this narrative verve is crucial and adds a kick to what could’ve easily become a bland retelling of an extraordinary story.

As the film progresses, it naturally settles down into a relatively regular rhythm, yet the musical numbers continue to fire off from all angles, bringing with them a thoroughly satisfying, feel-good quality. With unique, eye-popping visual flourishes used to embellish real life events like Elton’s legendary first gig at the Troubadour, the film breathes new life into old songs and the payoff is positively electric.

As with every good rock biopic, Rocketman is a pure, unapologetic celebration of its star’s music, yet, more importantly, it refuses to skip the darkness behind it all. This is so often the genre’s downfall and it was by far the biggest complaint levelled at Bohemian Rhapsody, however, Rocketman stands firm as – with the blessing of Elton John himself – it goes all-in on the artist’s frequently fraught private life.

Laid bare for all to see, Elton’s frequent struggles with anger and depression are covered as comprehensively as possible, as are his regular collisions with drugs and alcohol in a warts-and-all approach that hits just the right notes throughout. More importantly, however, Rocketman refuses to shy away from Elton’s sexuality with the kind forthright and refreshingly frank approach to his identity as a gay man that Bohemian Rhapsody missed the boat on so dramatically. 

As a huge, shimmering Elton celebration, Rocketman absolutely delivers, yet it’s always prepared to get deep down and dirty when necessary. While there’s no argument as to Elton John’s status as a rock and roll legend, there are definitely moments in the star’s past where his abrasive personality put him on a violent collision course with those around him and it’s these dark moments that Rocketman fully embraces.

There are, of course, moments in Rocketman, like any biopic, where cliché cannot be avoided. While certainly a one of a kind, Elton’s hard-rocking lifestyle incorporates elements that we’ve seen many times before, and despite its unique storytelling techniques, the film does hit some very familiar beats.

Regardless, these moments never threaten to drag down a film that plays to Elton John’s strengths wonderfully. As the story unfolds, it acts as the perfect foundation from which to celebrate and appreciate his art and showmanship as Rocketman puts absolutely everything into showcasing the music in the best way possible.

Positioning itself as a full-blown musical, Rocketman goes big with larger than life song and dance numbers, sprinkling liberal amounts of fantasy into the mix to create a dynamic and irresistible concoction that elevates stone cold classics to a whole new level. Rolling out hit after hit, even those ambivalent to Elton John and his music will be diving straight into the Spotify discography ASAP afterwards.

Putting everything he’s got on the line, Taron Egerton’s performance is everything you could possibly want from a biopic. Big, brazen, and magnetic, Egerton fully embraces Elton John without ever drifting into impersonation, embodying the star’s spirit and personality while mixing in just the right amount of himself to keep things interesting.

Accurately portraying a real-life personality without feeling like a parody is never easy. If there’s anything even remotely off about the central performance in a biopic it can kill the whole thing dead pretty swiftly, however, Egerton is just about as perfect for the role as you could possibly ask for.

Delicately balancing showmanship and fragility, Egerton takes on the immense job of evoking Elton John in his stride with a performance that’s every bit as perfect as Rami Malek’s Freddy, and should hopefully garner some significant attention come awards season. It’s a singular turn that bristles with energy, topped off by a voice that, while obviously nowhere near Elton’s, never once hits a bum note.

Alongside him, the rest of the cast are perfectly pitched in a variety of supporting roles. In particular, Richard Madden’s manipulative and domineering John Reid is fantastic, as is Jamie Bell as Elton’s long-term collaborator and friend Bernie Taupin, whose retrained, warm-hearted performance is the perfect foil for Taron Egerton’s extravagance. Even those with relatively limited screen time like Bryce Dallas Howard and Stephen Graham’s bulldozing Dick James make their moments count.

Lastly, special praise must go to Dexter Fletcher who pulls together all his directorial experience both in and out of the musical genre to come up with his best effort to date. Dealt a tricky hand on Bohemian Rhapsody when he took over last minute from Bryan Singer, Fletcher did a great job in rescuing what sounded like an absolute shitshow of a production, yet with the whole stage now available, he steps up to knock it clean out of the park.

Possessing more than a few similarities with the wonderful and criminally underrated Sunshine on Leith, Rocketman continues Fletcher’s dynamic brand of filmmaking, taking the fundamentals of the jukebox musical and giving them a vibrant and surprisingly modern makeover. Clearly aware of how to squeeze the most out of this form of storytelling, Fletcher’s unique narrative approach and exceptional eye for staging meld together perfectly to bring Elton’s entire world to life with vibrancy and energy to spare.

With wonderfully balanced heart and humour, Rocketman sparkles in its celebration of the life, loves, and artistry of Sir Elton John. Shaking things up with the kind of unique storytelling approach and inventive song staging that many musical biopics are terrified to touch, Dexter Fletcher finds a way to breathe life into what could’ve been a cynical, by-the-book rock star cash in. While it still falls into the same narrative traps of many biopics before it, Fletcher’s astute direction, wonderfully realised musical numbers, and Taron Egerton’s pitch-perfect performance are more than enough to light the fuse and send Rocketman into the stratosphere.