Before my screening there was a special message from Ziggy Marley ensuring the movie would be true to life because he attached himself as a producer to this project. If that's true, then Bob Marley probably doesn't deserve his own film. What I see here is another sanitized, bland Hollywood biopic, it's basically Walk Hard Part 7 at this point. I think we have to come to terms with Straight Outta Compton being the last great music biopic for a while, because the success of Bohemian Rhapsody has been an absolute travesty for this genre. This is another case of a movie that's strongly lacking in focus, character development, structure and above all authenticity. Where to even begin? The pathetic attempts at abstract imagery, the comical depiction of the UK punk scene, the obligatory success montage, the usual 'we improvised this song on the spot and it turned out to be a classic' scene, the way it quickly brushes over the more complicated aspects of Marley's personality; it's all so phony. I couldn't even tell you what the movie is about as a whole. New plot developments are introduced very awkwardly (political situation in Jamaica; shooting; cancer) only to be pushed to the side five minutes later. Because of that there's no real climax, dramatic build or pay-off. Still, there are a couple of positives. It's passable from a technical perspective, however for a movie about Jamaican reggae it should've been stronger on psychedelic vibes. The music is obviously a major highlight, and I thought Ben-Adir's vocals blended very seamlessly with Marley's. It's his performance combined with the scene stealing Lashana Lynch that keep the movie watchable, but none of that changes I think this is a massive waste of time.
Straight Outta Compton was sanitized af, too. Dr Dre was basically a saint in the movie! I'm actually surprised the Bob Marley estate allowed the scenes where he was shown as a toxic, violent asshole.
Review by JordyVIP 8BlockedParent2024-02-23T17:45:36Z
Before my screening there was a special message from Ziggy Marley ensuring the movie would be true to life because he attached himself as a producer to this project. If that's true, then Bob Marley probably doesn't deserve his own film. What I see here is another sanitized, bland Hollywood biopic, it's basically Walk Hard Part 7 at this point. I think we have to come to terms with Straight Outta Compton being the last great music biopic for a while, because the success of Bohemian Rhapsody has been an absolute travesty for this genre. This is another case of a movie that's strongly lacking in focus, character development, structure and above all authenticity. Where to even begin? The pathetic attempts at abstract imagery, the comical depiction of the UK punk scene, the obligatory success montage, the usual 'we improvised this song on the spot and it turned out to be a classic' scene, the way it quickly brushes over the more complicated aspects of Marley's personality; it's all so phony. I couldn't even tell you what the movie is about as a whole. New plot developments are introduced very awkwardly (political situation in Jamaica; shooting; cancer) only to be pushed to the side five minutes later. Because of that there's no real climax, dramatic build or pay-off. Still, there are a couple of positives. It's passable from a technical perspective, however for a movie about Jamaican reggae it should've been stronger on psychedelic vibes. The music is obviously a major highlight, and I thought Ben-Adir's vocals blended very seamlessly with Marley's. It's his performance combined with the scene stealing Lashana Lynch that keep the movie watchable, but none of that changes I think this is a massive waste of time.
3.5/10