Bohemian Rhapsody tells the amazing story of Freddie Mercury and Queen in their rise to becoming one of the most legendary bands in the world. The movie’s extensive use of the band’s hits never felt unwelcome, and Mercury’s personality was captured convincingly by Rami Malek’s acting.

Despite a few character development issues, “Bohemian Rhapsody” lives up to its name, with a great balance of backstory and performance elements that managed to hold my interest throughout the movie.

The movie opens as Mercury is preparing for a show, “Live Aid” from 1985, which turns out to be one of their most famous performances. The opening sequence closes as Mercury walks out in front of a crowd of countless people.

We see a quick glimmer of Queen’s fame, but we’re soon dropped into the life of Farrokh Bulsara, soon to be Freddie Mercury. We also see the complex relationship Mercury has with his parents, which remains a constant theme throughout his career. Soon, Mercury joins a local college band, and together they set off on the path to becoming Queen.

One of the most interesting parts of the movie was the glimpses it gave into the creation of some of Queen’s most popular songs, including We Will Rock You and Bohemian Rhapsody, the movie’s namesake. These scenes provide insight into how the band functioned, fueled by Brian May and Roger Taylor’s (former members of Queen) contribution to the project.

The movie had some humor in it, which was, for the most part, pretty funny, but the best part was the acting. The supporting band members, played by Ben Hardy, Gwilym Lee and Joseph Mazzello, each seemed to fit their roles. Malek, who previously starred in “Mr. Robot,” once again delivered. His performance was spot on, and though the singing voice was always Mercury, the performances and band practices never seemed boring.

The focus of the movie was on Mercury. It highlighted his relationship with his wife Mary and the difficulty he had in discovering his sexuality. The movie’s depiction of Freddie’s internal conflict is compelling, and he becomes his own antagonist to a certain extent, but these struggles also overshadow the setbacks of the band and make it seem like an easy journey to fame for the first three-quarters of the movie.

An area that was lacking, however, was the character development of Mercury’s bandmates. There was occasional information about their lives, but nothing as notable as there was for Mercury. This brought the story down a little.

Overall, I really enjoyed the movie. Watching Malek’s great performances while listening to my favorite band gave the movie a great feel. My final score is 9/10.