Elton John biopic Rocketman never really achieves takeoff

The star attraction of Rocketman is Elton John’s thick back catalogue of classic hits. But despite the hype machine that has been chugging at full throttle over this biopic, it never really leaves the ground.

The Rocketman hype machine has been chugging at full throttle for yonks, furiously pumping up this musical biopic of veteran singer-songwriter Elton John into the same league as the recent smash hit Bohemian Rhapsody.

If only it was so.

In truth, the first Mamma Mia! is a more relevant reference point for what is a cheesy rewrite (and often, cheeky reordering) of Elton’s colourful life and times.

The star attraction of Rocketman, as it should be, is Elton’s thick back catalogue of classic hits.

The hype machine has been trying to put Rocketman in the same league as Bohemian Rhapsody.

Thankfully, the elaborate musical sequences structured around seminal 70s hits like Crocodile Rock, Bennie and the Jets and Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting are definitely worth the price of admission for fans.

However, the story told between the tunes in Rocketman never achieves takeoff.

In a rather odd framing device, we keep returning to visit Elton at a private rehab facility.

Clad in his gaudiest stage attire, Elton (played by Kingsman star Taron Egerton) hijacks a group-therapy session to narrate his life story, one-upping his fellow patients with tales of woe while teeing-up the next track programmed into the Rocketman jukebox.

Many of these interludes are just a bit too whiny and woe-is-me in nature.

The star of attraction of Rocketman is Elton John’s thick back catalogue of hits.

But the story between the tunes never really achieves takeoff.

There’s Elton lashing out at the mum who never loved him (Bryce Dallas Howard as Sheila).

There are plenty of whacks for the lover who managed him and never loved him (Richard Madden as John Reid).

And, just in case you don’t detect a theme forming, there’s a big thumbs-down for the dad who never loved him (Steven Mackintosh as Stanley).

Sure, the narrative doesn’t hold back when it comes to laying out the table for Elton’s famed appetite for self-destruction.

Nor does the movie tiptoe along Elton’s long and complicated path towards finding, accepting and revealing his own sexual identity (unlike Bohemian Rhapsody, which seemed quite embarrassed by Freddie Mercury’s gayness).

Despite being about Elton John, the movies doesn’t get you any closer to the bloke.

Nevertheless, Rocketman’s excess-all-areas backstage pass doesn’t get you any closer to the bloke.

Taron Egerton toils hard in the role of Elton for moderate returns. Because the movie leans so hard on Elton’s many flamboyant stage personas and outfits, Egerton is stuck with colouring in a vivid caricature rather than playing an actual human being.

It is only when Rocketman occasionally pauses to acknowledge Elton John’s remarkable musical brotherhood with longtime lyricist Bernie Taupin (Jamie Bell) that Egerton is given the chance to go deeper, and bring something real back to the surface.

The actor’s singing is strong in the up-tempo numbers, but found wanting with the slower, quieter stuff.

ROCKETMAN (M)

Director: Dexter Fletcher (Eddie the Eagle)

Starring: Taron Egerton, Jamie Bell, Bryce Dallas Howard, Richard Madden, Steven Mackintosh.

Rating: **

Burning out his fuse, up there alone

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