Rocketman

It's Taron Egerton as Elton John who carries and sells the film -- often backwards and in platform heels. Wild as it may sound to approach such a mercurial and marvelous character with beautiful restraint, Egerton's performance is meticulously calibrated.

Really, on the basis of "Rocketman," you'd think Elton John never had a moment of fun.

"Rocketman" is far from a drama of introspection-and, unfortunately, Egerton's performance, as directed by Fletcher, doesn't add to the protagonist's inner life.

Rocketman has unusual dramatic heft for a jukebox musical, but that's a big curve on which to grade - the characters are still skin-deep.

Rocketman never quite finds the wild momentum its characters seem to chase around in all those musical numbers.

If you need somebody to recount the rise of a British rock god from pallid suburbia to the baroque extremes of fame, and to create a stir without causing too much of a fuss, Fletcher is your man.

Despite existing in a fantasy world, these characters are unmistakably human, and that, along with the masterful film craft on display, is what makes this one of the best musical biopics ever made.

What makes Rocketman so uneven is, ironically enough, a lack of understanding of what makes Elton John so iconic.

Dexter Fletcher's Elton John biopic is an entertaining if imperfect film with a fantastic performance from Taron Egerton.

A bright and colorful telling of a rock icon's life that shows off the ups and downs in splendorific fashion.