A Movie Review By Anthony Ritter
The King is back as Elvis hits theaters this weekend. Elvis follows Presley’s (Austin Butler) life as he becomes a singing legend. This 2 hour and 39-minute movie covers over 20 years of the icon’s life. The film shows audiences the struggles Elvis faced due to his inspirations and the complicated relationship Elvis had with his manager Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks).
What follows is The Good, The Bad, and The Spoilers of Elvis.
The Good
The acting of this movie is all around fantastic. Austin Butler truly embodies Elvis Presley and Tom Hanks does a great job of making the audience despise him in a very short amount of time. Throughout the film I had to look closely to figure out if they were using actual footage of Elvis, or was it, Butler. The passion that Butler brought to the role was what really put it over the top for me. You can see that this wasn’t just an actor playing a part, this was someone who truly wanted to pay Elvis Presley the greatest respect by representing him as accurately as possible.
Another “good” highlight of this movie is the music. I had been concerned that the movie would just be Elvis singing on stage, over and over again. Instead, we get some of these Elvis performances, along with multiple mash-up performances. While Elvis is singing, they also overlap another singer that he drew inspiration from. Probably my favorite musical note to the movie were the modern artists, like Eminem and Doja Cat, who did their own unique interpretations/spin-offs of classic Elvis’s songs.
The Bad
The main downside to this movie is its run time. The film is just 20 minutes shy of 3 hours. This is partly to do with the fact that it is covering over 20 eventful years of Elvis’s life. I had no problem with the length until about the 2-hour mark. At this point the story seemed to lull a bit and I found myself looking at my watching thinking there was no way I could make it another 40 minutes. The story did pick back up and that feeling went away about 10 minutes later. That being said, we don’t want to ever be sitting in a movie hoping for it to be over soon.
My Overall Opinion
To keep it short and sweet, I enjoyed Elvis but not everyone will. This movie is perfect for those that have spent their lives appreciating Elvis and his music. Austin Butler truly brings the King of Rock and Roll back to life on the big screen, and for many that is worth a trip to the theaters. If you count yourself in that group, then go strap on your Blue Suede Shoes and head to the theater today. If you do not understand that reference, you should probably skip this one and wait to rent it.
On his blog “GoodBadSpoilers.com”, Anthony Ritter critiques and writes a review on selected movies. Once you see a movie that Ritter has reviewed, visit his blog and share your point of view.
