Best Of

I've been seeing a bit of criticism in the days following the opening about how they treated his sexuality.

Apparently, for some people, you can't tell that two (or more) people had sex unless you see them doing it on screen in full display. At least, that's what I gather from the criticism I'm reading.

This was a PG-13 movie, as required by the surviving members of the band as a condition for the music licensing, first off.

Secondly, the ONLY time you see Freddie in bed with anyone is right before he proposes to Mary (history, not spoiler), and even then it was suitable for TV.

There is absolutely no doubt that Freddie was gay and had lots of sex (I mean, come on, he was the biggest rock star in the world) in this movie. If you can't come to that conclusion without seeing actual uglies bumped, then I pity you.

To have tons of sex and drug use (also implied in another scene without having to see someone actually running lines) front and center on the screen would have, in my opinion, dramatically taken away from the movie. This was a movie about him and the band's journey. Breaking ground and turning convention on its head at every turn. Yes, Freddie was gay and died of AIDS, we all knew this. This was not a revelation for anyone. It's also absolutely not the point of the film.

Went and caught a late showing of this last night after putting the kids to bed.

I've been hype about this movie since the first trailer dropped. I'm already a huge Rami Malek fan, and I couldn't wait to see what he did with it.

Absolutely not disappointed. From start to finish, his performance was a masterpiece. Rami Malek for all the awards next year.

The settings, the music (I mean, come on, how could the music NOT be amazing in a Queen movie), the path they took through his life (heartbreaking). Everything about this movie was the perfect tribute to the quintessential rock & roll showman.

I was only 16 when Freddie passed, so it didn't really affect me that much other than the standard "Oh man, no more Queen".

The last week or so in the lead up to this movie I've been jamming a ton of Queen in preparation. Listening to all the different things they did, playing with genres and turning conventions on their heads. A Night at The Opera came out barely a month after I was born, and I think it still holds up as one of the greatest albums ever put out. Full stop.

Also, in listening to so much in the last week, his death has really sunk in as to its impact on the music world. More than Bowie. More than Michael Jackson. Freddie was a phenomenon, and we're all much worse off in the 28 years he's been gone.

I haven't felt such an emotional ride from a movie in I can't remember how long.

I won't even get into the songs they used, because the contexts could be taken as spoilers, especially toward the end.

If you have an even passing familiarity with Queen or Freddie. Go see this movie.