"Elvis" gives you a retro feeling but feels like it goes on forever. If you are a fan of Elvis and want to see an interesting take on his life, I suggest this film. If not, it becomes almost a chore to watch by the end.
Synopsis
Throughout his early rise to fame to his unmatchable superstardom, rock 'n' roll icon Elvis Presley shared a complicated relationship with his manager Colonel Tom Parker. This film relives the ups and downs of Presley's life and fame under the control of Parker. It stars Austin Butler as Elvis Presley and Tom Hanks as Colonel Tom Parker.
What I loved
Austin Butler as Elvis. Plain and simple. Butler does a fantastic job portraying Elvis. From his look to his voice and sound, it is truly hard to distinguish the two. In the film, we see old clips of Elvis and I genuinely could not tell who was who at some points. Hands down Butler's performance alone is worth the watch.
The acknowledgment of where Elvis's sound came from. In this film, we see Elvis get his sound from Black artists and how this is seen in the public eye. I'm glad they acknowledged and showed the history of his songs (and ones he took), gave credit where it's due, and hopefully educated some people on the topic.
What I didn't love
The transitions in this film. Most of the transitions in this film were fast, choppy, jarring, and confusing. There was one scene in particular where two songs overlapped each other and it really took away from the scene. The transitions just felt too modern and overall out of place and took away from the film as a whole.
How the movie was narrated. The movie is narrated by Parker, and it's a classic villain story. I wish there was a lot more Elvis, and way less Parker because honestly, I didn't like how the narrating was weaved into the movie. I know it's based on real-life events, but the narration makes it feel like a fiction movie, not a biopic. Overall, I just didn't like the narrator or the style.
Verdict
Simply if I could've watched an entire film with just Butler as Elvis, It would've been amazing, but all the stuff around Butler makes the film less enjoyable. For the first maybe hour or more of the movie it was amazing, but by the end, I was counting the scenes till it was over.
I give "Elvis" a 3 out of 5.
