Rocketman

Rocketman is a 2019 biography musical drama movie that's based on the true story of. It was directed by Dexter Fletcher, produced by Matthew Vaughn, Adam Bohling, David Furnish and David Reid, and stars Taron Egerton as the main character.

It was in development hell as long back as the 2000s before being announced in 2013 by Focus Features, whom was distributing the film before Paramount acquired the project.

Plot
Young Reginald Dwight renames himself to Elton John and collaborates with singer-songwriter to become one of the most iconic figures in pop culture history. Set to his most beloved songs, it's the epic musical story of Elton John, his breakthrough years in the 1970s and his fantastical transformation from shy piano prodigy to international superstar.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) It's almost very faithful to the amazingly talented Elton John from his childhood to his rehab years. Plus, compared to certain other biopics, not too much is fabricated or just plain left out.
 * 2) A totally rich soundtrack that has astounding songs like 'I'm Still Standing', 'Saturday Night (Alright for Fighting)' and 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road'.
 * 3) The film ends with a thorough recreation of the 'I'm Still Standing' music video.
 * 4) Beautifully creative costume designs by wonderful costume designer, Julian Day, which are almost accurate to the original costumes.
 * 5) The score by Matthew Margeson is surprisingly well done, incorporating Elton's songs into the orchestrating with a grand scale.
 * 6) It's the first film by a major film studio to include a gay male sex scene, although some countries blocked the scene from showing it in theaters, later including it back in for the disc releases at least (4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD).
 * 7) The performances from the cast are quite good, but it's Taron Egerton who gives the performance of his life. He absolutely shines in the role of Elton, to the point where some can debate if he even looks the part.
 * 8) Many of the songs from the film are remastered and remade by Egerton's dazzling voice, it didn't even affect the lyrics, even if some of the lyrics are changed or switched around.

The Only Bad Quality

 * 1) It sometimes can be inaccurate to the events of Elton John. For example, he dated a secretary named Linda Hannon for about 2 years, not a landlady named Arabella. Also, Elton didn't come out as gay until 1988, and said he was bisexual before that and the film goes up till 1983 (when "I'm Still Standing" was released).

Reception
Rocketman received a largely positive response from critics, with some calling it one of the best films released in 2019, praising Egerton's acting and vocal performance, the costume design, the soundtrack, and the musical sequences.

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 89% based on 383 reviews, with an average rating of 7.60/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "It's going to be a long, long time before a rock biopic manages to capture the highs and lows of an artist's life like Rocketman." On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 69 out of 100, based on 49 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it an average 4 out of 5 stars and a 69% "definite recommend".

Box office
Rocketman grossed $96.4 million in the United States and Canada, and $98.8 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $195.2 million, against a production budget of $40 million.

Awards
Rocketman won Best Original Song for "(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again" at the Academy Awards and Golden Globes, also receiving a nomination for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy and winning Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for Egerton at the latter.