PROVOKR PICK: ROCKETMAN

BY: Georgia Davis

Elton John is a legend of epic proportions. Most would deem him flamboyant, and they wouldn’t be wrong. But the outfits only add to his poignant lyrics and melodic voice. And it’s about damn time he got the biopic he deserves.

Taron Egerton fills those iconic platform shoes and dons the star-shaped glasses in Dexter Fletcher’s real fantasy Rocketman. The film documents Reginald Kenneth Dwight’s transformation to Sir Elton Hercules John. It boasts an impressive original screenplay from Lee Hall.

“When I do a show, even now, 20 minutes before I go on, I choose my outfit,” Elton says in an exclusive video from Paramount Pictures that you can watch above. “Until then, I don’t become Elton. When I put my outfit on, I’m in the part.”

Rocketman features all of Elton’s biggest hits, from “Tiny Dancer” to “I’m Still Standing” to “Bennie and the Jets.” It also comes in a time where 80s nostalgia is at an all-time high, which is probably why last year’s Bohemian Rhapsody prospered.

Egerton shines — literally — as the pop icon. He rides the highs of Elton’s life and digs into the lows. Yes, not everything is as bright as the Yellow Brick Road. The film, of which Elton is an executive producer, shows his drug use and wild nights. It doesn’t stray from the gritty; instead, it embraces it. Without those aspects, we wouldn’t have Elton, and what a dismal, monochromatic world that would be.