Rocketman

Rocketman is what happens when a biopic ditches the “by-the-numbers” approach and goes for broke. It tells the chaos-and-glitter story of Elton John, but instead of box-ticking his life’s big moments, it leans into musical fantasy. Imagine if Bohemian Rhapsody had actual personality and you’ll be close. The movie isn’t afraid to mess with chronology or get weird and dreamlike. At times it’s literally Elton’s life as a stage musical inside his own head. It works way better than it should.

If there’s a secret weapon here, it’s Taron Egerton. His Elton isn’t just about fun costumes and big sunglasses. The guy can actually sing (those vocals? All him), and you feel both the charisma and the pain under Elton’s sequined shell. Egerton throws himself into the emotional breakdowns and the impossible highs, and he looks like he’s loving every minute and suffering through it all too.

The supporting cast mostly show up to orbit around Egerton, but Bryce Dallas Howard as Elton’s complicated mother is unexpectedly sharp, and Jamie Bell as Bernie Taupin is just the right mix of loyal and independent. This is not really a movie about music industry drama, but about messy, raw friendship and loneliness. Every friendship scene between Elton and Bernie genuinely lands and the film isn’t afraid to make their moments tender without getting sappy.

Tonally, Rocketman is a swing for the fences. There are moments where it feels like a fever dream, or maybe a Vegas show tackling serious mental breakdowns from inside a disco ball. Sometimes this turns out amazing—like the "Rocket Man" pool scene. Sometimes, the surrealism blunts the emotional punch a bit, especially when it shifts gears too fast. You get the sense that the director (Dexter Fletcher) wanted maximal spectacle but sometimes sacrificed subtlety.

Visually, the movie is pure pop excess. The cinematography glitters, the musical numbers are lush, and “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting” becomes a mini movie in itself. For a rough-edged story about addiction and trauma, the film manages to be joyful about its subject’s survival instead of wallowing in agony. Still, I wish it had slowed down at key moments rather than hitting the next big costume change.

If I’m being honest, Rocketman sometimes feels a bit too tidy emotionally, as if between the choreography and color, it’s scared of going too feral. But compared to almost every biopic in its category, it actually has guts and style. If you want a stiff, sober look at Elton John, this isn’t it—thankfully. It’s fun, strange, genuinely moving, and just a little bit wild.