Rating of
3/4
Final review of 2022!
Matthew Brady - wrote on 12/31/22
"There's a lot of people saying a lot of things, but in the end, you gotta listen to yourself."
‘Elvis’ may have followed the familiar biopic route, yet it delivers an impactful, dynamic punch. I wasn’t too keen on it the first time I watched it, but for whatever reason, on the second re-watch, I enjoyed it a lot more once I had an idea of the pacing.
There is never a dull moment with director Baz Lurhmann.
The film editing begins like a cocaine rush of adrenaline with wild scene transitions, depicting Elvis during his youth and prime. As the movie progresses, it slows down, and the editing isn’t as chaotic, symbolizing his declining health.
Austin Butler's portrayal of Elvis is spectacular. It’s a tricky part to play without it falling into an impersonation, as we have had many Elvis impersonations throughout the years. I only saw the King himself. There's a part towards the end of the movie where it transitions into old footage of the actual Elvis during his final years while performing on stage, and since Butler looked and sounded like the King, I could not tell the difference. It is a career-highlight performance.
On the other hand, Tom Hanks gives the best/worst performance of his career as Colonel Tom Parker, the manager of Elvis. He does what I assume is a Dutch accent, but you never get used to it during the two-and-a-half hour-long runtime. He's like an alien trying to live as a human. Even then, I still thought he was good in the movie. Aspects of the film are his point of view and the unreliable narrator. In the beginning, he claims on his deathbed that - “I did not kill Elvis Presley…I made him. Without me, there wouldn’t be an ELVIS PRESLEY.”
So, in that way, it’s already fresher than most biopics.
With it being a Baz Lurhmann picture, the costume and production design look stylish and superb, and the cinematography by Mandy Walker is stunning.
However, the problems I had with the movie were some of its bizarre choices; one example is when they play the song hound dog with a modern-day remix, but it only happens once with that one song and never again. And why the hell was there a Backstreet Boys song in the film? How strange. There are some silly scenes and lines. It does look and feel like a music video at points.
Overall rating: Despite my problems, it oddly made the film more memorable, hence why I am bringing it up after all this time. The movie does a great job of capturing the heart-pounding energy of the concert scenes. It's a solid tribute to the man himself.
Happy new year everyone!
Elvis has left the building.
