Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

Rocketman 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 23, 2019

If you were a nerdy little piano player in the 1970s (ahem), chances are you had at least two then newly minted Top 40 heroes to emulate: Elton John and Billy Joel. I haven’t seen any announcement of a Joel biographical film in the offing (though Billy did get his own so-called “jukebox musical” several years ago courtesy of Twyla Tharp’s Movin’ Out), but in Rocketman Elton John is memorialized in several not so coincidentally similar ways to how Freddie Mercury was in the relatively recent Bohemian Rhapsody. And much like Rami Malek’s eventual Academy Award winning turn in Bohemian Rhapsody gave that film much of its energy, Rocketman is similarly propelled by a viscerally involving performance by Taron Egerton as a guy who was born with the name Reginald Kenneth Dwight. Kind of interestingly, given my mention of Movin’ Out above, Rocketman assumes certain “jukebox musical” tendencies itself, with several of Elton’s (and Bernie’s of course) tunes utilized to comment on the proceedings, rather than only trotting them out for “live performance” sequences. That tends to give Rocketman at least some of the trappings of a traditional musical, but the film also wants to provide a bit of psychology (again much as was the case with Bohemian Rhapsody, and again not so coincidentally at least partially focused on matters of sexual preference).

That psychological aspect is brought to bear just about from the get go with a conceit that finds Elton (Taron Egerton playing the role as an adult) storming into a so-called “12 step meeting”, albeit in an outlandish horned and winged stage costume. The very theatrical ambience of this approach would seem to chafe at any “realistic” depiction of underlying emotions and/or traumas, and it’s here that even some diehard Elton fans may feel that Rocketman never quite finds sure footing, vacillating a bit between “kitchen sink” dramatics and over the top flourishes that aren’t necessarily tied to those aforementioned “live performance” aspects. Rocketman may also suffer a bit from too on the nose dialogue, where every jot and tittle of foundational “issues” needs to be overtly discussed, with an emphasis on how various things made Elton "feel". By the time the film has an older and ostensibly wiser Elton in an AA meeting interacting with ghosts from his past, including "forgiving" his parents and then hugging his childhood self, even self-appointed psychoanalysts may be rolling their eyes, if only a little.

It would be easy to say that Rocketman depicts Elton (played appealingly by Matthew Illesley and Kit Connor at younger ages) with pretty significant “Daddy” issues, Daddy in this case being martinet Stanley Dwight (Steven Mackintosh). Except, Elton most definitely also has “Mommy issues” as well, Mommy in this case being the somewhat callous Sheila Dwight (Bryce Dallas Howard). About the only family member young Elton (then of course known as Reginald or Reggie) has to depend on is his grandma whom he calls “nan”, but whose given name is Ivy (Gemma Jones). The film rather quickly documents the roiling family dysfunctions of the Dwight household, while also giving an overview of young Reggie’s first forays into piano repertoire.

Rocketman of course goes on to document Elton’s ultimate partnership with Bernie Taupin (Jamie Bell), while also detailing occasional skirmishes with music impresario Dick James (Stephen Graham). This film is arguably a bit more overt in its approach toward Elton’s sexuality than Bohemian Rhapsody was with regard to Freddie Mercury’s, with a kind of overheated subplot featuring Elton’s manager and lover John Reid (Richard Madden). All of this supposed “biographical” information spills out in a carnival like atmosphere, where the music is often not all that diagetic, and in fact often springs out of dialogue and/or events, much as in a “traditional” musical. That kind of tends to once again bifurcate the proceedings, though, as many Elton fans are going to of course recognize the songs as Elton tunes, where they are often offered here in different contexts, and just as often with a number of characters singing at least snippets of them. Even some of the so- called "source" music, like tunes played by Elton in various auditions or performances, are almost non sequiturs, at least in terms of the timeline, and often in terms of the actual history involved.

Rocketman at least has the courage of its stylistic convictions, for better and/or worse, and utilizes this kind of odd approach to arguably fitful effect, but the film is often bright and breezy despite its subtext of potential overuse of that vaunted trifecta of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. This is certainly miles away from the sort of revisionist Hollywood biopics of folks like, for example, Cole Porter in Night and Day, and it's obviously trying to make a point about show business artifice masking some deep psychological traumas (as evidenced by the late reveal of Elton "losing" the fantastic 12 step getup that opens the film), but this is a "biography" that is intentionally as much "show" as it is "business". In that regard, it's kind of interesting that this edition comes replete with a little booklet written by Elton which is obviously a PR stunt to promote his upcoming autobiography Me, but which gets into both his life and the liberties Rocketman has taken with it. "It wasn't all true, but it was the truth," is Elton's summation of the situation, and that statement (advice?) should probably be taken to heart when watching the film.

Note: I actually upped my initial score for Rocketman after having thought about it for a while. That said, my colleague Brian Orndorf was less positively inclined toward the film, and you can read Brian's thoughts here.

Rocketman 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Screenshots are sourced from the 1080p Blu-ray.

Rocketman is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Paramount Pictures with a 2160p transfer in 2.39:1. For some technical information on the shoot as well as a link to an interesting interview with cinematographer George Richmond, please refer to our Rocketman Blu-ray review. This is one of the first Paramount 4K UHD presentations I've personally reviewed, and I have to say I was very pleasantly impressed with the look of this transfer. Dolby Vision adds a slew of highlights which are noticeable from the first seconds, with some really nice gradations of light behind Elton as he bursts through doors that are obviously meant to seem like a stage entrance. But over and over again I was really struck with the vivid tones in the palette in this presentation, from the orangish hues of his "devil" costume, to the almost mustard yellow of a corduroy jacket he wears later, to the blues of the Troubadour sequence, to some really evocative reds, purples and oranges in a late montage sequence. Some of the interesting grading and desaturating techniques that are utilized look really distinctive in this presentation, and the contrast between the saturated and desaturated elements in "The Bitch is Back" sequence, for example, is at least marginally more observable in this version. Interestingly, a few moments, like the late kinda sorta reunion with Elton's father, look slightly cooler in this version. Matching the impact of the palette is a definite and noticeable uptick in fine detail levels. Textures on costumes are routinely palpable seeming, and "little" items like the patterned wallpaper in the Dwight family home look more precise here. What I'm assuming is an intentional downgrade in clarity at the very end of the film, when things get into "music video" territory during the "I'm Still Standing" sequence, looks a little more ragged here than in the 1080p version.

Rocketman 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Rocketman features an extremely effective Dolby Atmos mix which takes full advantage of all the surround channels for the often fantastically energetic musical sequences. Even in some of the more "introspective" sung moments, immersion is quite impressive, with clear wafting of both instrumental underpinnings and vocals floating in and through the soundstage. Crowd noises in clubs and concerts also spill impressively around and at times over the listener. Fidelity on the nicely "reconstructed" songs (Egerton evidently did his own singing, and is quite good) is always superb, and dialogue is presented cleanly and clearly throughout.

Note: As is also often the case with Fox 4K UHD/Blu-ray packages, the audio and subtitle specs are different on the two discs in this Paramount release. The specs here are for the 4K UHD disc; please see our 1080p Blu-ray review for the specs on that disc.

Rocketman 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The 4K UHD disc boasts no supplements. The supplements outlined in our Rocketman Blu-ray review are of course included on the 1080p Blu-ray disc included with this release.

Rocketman 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

As might have been gleaned from my opening statement above, I was indeed a nerdy little piano player in the 1970s and I completely idolized both Elton and Billy, along with a host of other fantastic keyboard artists whose music was featured prominently on the radio in those days. Back in those perhaps more innocent times, I certainly never thought about any artist's personal life all that much, and my hunch is a lot of other fans never did, either. As such, psychologically ruminative efforts like Rocketman may strike some as needless, cathartic to their subjects perhaps but maybe not to the audience. That said, Rocketman has a ton of fantastic music, some artfully staged song and dance sequences, and at least the general outlines of Elton's amazing life and career. Egerton is first rate as Elton, and he may be offering yet another analog between this film and Bohemian Rhapsody by scoring a Best Actor Academy Award nomination next year. Though not a self avowed armchair psychoanalyst, I was indeed rolling my eyes a few times at the silly psychobabble and other melodrama that sometimes informs this feature, but that said I was never less than completely entertained by this film. With caveats noted, and with an appreciation for solid technical merits and a nice slate of supplements (on the included 1080p Blu-ray), Rocketman comes Recommended.