Elton John's Rocketman review: An Orgy of Camp Clothes, Cars, Mansions and Orgies!

4/5 STARS

Taron Egerton brings out his inner diva into the spotlight with a versatile depiction of Elton John in this musical biopic of the singer’s career.

Tracking his rise from suburban schoolboy to global superstar, we see the tears behind the glamour as Elton struggles with a lack of self-worth, which the film shows stems from his distant dad that didn’t want to hug him. This results in the usual rock and roll clichés of self-destructive addictions, including drugs, booze, sex and shopping, with which Elton tried to fill his void.

Packed with the greatest hits such as Crocodile Rock and Your Song, it’s an orgy of clothes, cars, mansions and orgies, though unlike the outrageous costumes, the gay sex scenes are tasteful, sincere and won’t scare the homophobes too much.

Taron Egerton takes on the role of Elton (Image: Paramount Pictures)

There is no denying the range and commitment of his performance as Elton John, particularly his ability to transition in a moment from heartbroken heap to onstage pop star.

He shows Elton as a flawed, petulant, often unpleasant figure who wins our sympathy through his honesty and eventual willingness to confront his demons.

Jamie Bell is Elton’s lyricist, Bernie Taupin, and their love affair is part of the movie and his journey to accepting and loving himself is at the heart of the movie.

The film contains many of Elton's biggest hits (Image: Paramount Pictures)

As Elton’s abusive manager, Richard Madden is a badman, and Bryce Dallas Howard is breathtakingly self-serving as Elton’s mother.

From playing Baby Face in kiddie caper Bugsy Malone, to stepping in and saving Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, director Dexter Fletcher is a veteran of big-screen musicals.

Here, dynamic and slickly choreographed numbers full of visually inventive flights of fancy reveal his empathy for Elton, and he’s clearly a huge fan of the Rocketman and so will you after the cinematic experience.