The Queen biopic has held the first official screenings and reactions have been very mixed.
The overwhelming consensus is that Rami Malek impresses as the troubled frontman, but many have expressed concerns about the way the story is portrayed.
Malek himself told the New York Times: “It’s not lost on me that this could go terribly wrong, that it could be detrimental to one’s career should this not go the right way. Why would you want to alter anyone’s perception of their hero?”
But it seems the new film may be trying to do just that with one critic slamming the way it shows the band “resented” Freddie.
Mike Ryan from Uproxx tweeted: “My biggest takeaway from BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY is how much the rest of Queen resents Freddie Mercury.
“But Rami Malek is outstanding. Also, the fact Mike Myers is in this movie is genius and insane.
“Also this is the first biopic I ever remember watching in which literally every scene I’m thinking, ‘there’s no way that’s how that actually went down.’ The whole third act is not even close to accurate. That’s all I’ll say.”
The New York Times added: “BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY is a glorified Wikipedia entry but Rami Malek plays Freddie Mercury (and wears his wonderful costumes) with incredible gusto.
IndieWire said: “Bohemian Rhapsody is a straight-on biopic with plenty of Queen music and a strong performance by Rami Malek. It will get mixed reviews. It might play with audiences.”
These are all measured and a little underwhelming.
Fans, of course, are overwhelmingly excited to see their heroes on the big screen and many reactions have also highlighted that the live concert scenes are electrifying and some of the best ever shown on film.
BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY: FREDDIE MERCURY’S FINAL DAYS – THE FULL STORY
Bohemian Rhapsody also stars Gwilym Lee as Brian May, Ben Hardy as Roger Taylor and Joseph Mazzello as John Deacon.
The film has had a troubled path to cinemas after original director Bryan Singer was dismissed amid reports he disappeared from set and had clashed with the stars and the crew.
British director Dexter Fletcher stepped in and is already working on the Elton John biopic Rocket Man, with Kingsman star Taron Egerton in the lead.
Bohemian Rhapsody is released in UK cinemas on October 24, 2018.