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Best songs ever and great in 4k.

Telling Elton John's story in film was always going to be difficult as any biopic of a still-living person is. They always veer towards painting over the blemishes, very few are brave enough to go warts and all in depicting their subject. Although more honest than most, you get the feeling there's a much more interesting film to be made about Elton John yet. Charting him from childhood up to roughly his late-80s/early-90s rehab stint, Taron Edgerton is by far the best draw in this, and does a pretty good job of belting out his own vocals for the numerous songs used in this film. Some are shown as concert performances, others take the form of old-school Hollywood musical interludes of the sing-what-you're-feeling school of acting. Beside him very few others get a look-in, save for Jamie Bell as Bernie Taupin, his songwriting partner, one of the few characters not treated as an obstacle on the road to his worldwide fame. In particular, both his parents and his former managers come off as borderline monstrous, especially John Reid, which makes for good entertainment but leaves a feeling of Elton's understandably biased P.O.V leaking in to the characterisation. What holds this back is an overly-long first act focussing on his childhood and early years performing in pubs and landing his first album deal, which in turn leads to a rushed-feeling been there, done that depiction of rock'n'roll excess third act. Your mileage may vary depending on how much you know of Elton's career beforehand or indeed your view of his music.