Rocketman · reception & legacy
2019 · Dexter Fletcher
How Rocketman has been received, argued over, and remembered.
The arc
Premiered at Cannes 2019 to a warm standing ovation and solid reviews, but lived its whole first year in the shadow of Bohemian Rhapsody's box office; since then it's steadily become the film cinephiles point to as the one that did the music biopic right.
What's debated
The forever-debate: Rocketman vs Bohemian Rhapsody — the braver, better-made film that earned a fraction of the money, and whether going full fantasy-musical is the only honest way to make a jukebox biopic at all.
Its footprint
The Troubadour scene where the whole crowd lifts off the floor during 'Crocodile Rock' is its signature image, endlessly clipped and referenced; the film also gets invoked whenever a new music biopic is accused of failing the 'Walk Hard test' — Rocketman is the counter-example that passed.
Where it stands
A Letterboxd-era favourite in a much-mocked genre — the standard-issue rec when someone says they hate music biopics.