Rocketman: maybe the story of every famous musician is essentially the same, maybe they are not; but their film biopics seem, for the most part, out of the same generic template, with the same emotional beats and narrative tropes, roughly in the same order. This one is no different, but director Dexter Fletcher, at least, is inspired by his subject’s exuberant energy and preposterous aesthetics to create the musical numbers, making them more akin to fantasy (or music videos) than to recorded performances. Acting is a bit all over the place, with a bias towards the over-the-top. Taron Egerton (properly attired, coiffured and made-up) has a good resemblance with Elton John and doesn’t embarrass himself with the singing (quite the opposite), but is merely OK otherwise. Bryce Dallas Howard is one of the major examples of the stylized choice for the performance tone, while Richard Madden is a bit stiff. It’s Jamie Bell, out of the supporting cast, who comes out the better. The film is colorful and lush, particularly Julian Day’s costumes, and moves along at a nice pace.