Odd man out? I refer not to Freddie Mercury, but myself, for being little moved by this film while friends and companions liked it much more. “Dislike” would be too strong, so I’ll settle on “disappointed.”

The story-telling could have been much richer. I never came to know other band members, thinking perhaps of “The Doors” (1991) as being better at this. Glimpses of Freddie’s family life were minimalist, compared even to efforts in “Saturday Night Fever” (1977) to portray parent and sibling interactions.  I also would have enjoyed seeing more of the song-development process.

This film was too narrow, focused on the “performer personality” and a complicated lovelife.

Time was not wasted for these reasons: (1) the Live Aid show footage was grand and gripping; (2) acting was solid across the cast, with leads Rami Malek and Lucy Boynton particularly strong; (3) extended song-play through the closing credits felt like the makings of a fun concert.

Lastly, I’ll steal the observation of my friend ‘G’ to note an irony: While this show ridiculed the music industry for dissing the six-minute length of the song from which the title is lifted, the film itself did not find six minutes to provide viewers with a full rendition of the classic “Bohemian Rhapsody.” My query in response: “Isn’t that what we came to hear and see?”

*(star) rating in the title is mine; e.g. 7*=Seven Stars (maximum 10)