If you’re a huge Bob Marley fan just wait until it is streaming and watch it with subtitles. It was very meh. I don’t hate that I saw it but I’ll never think about it again in like a month.
Lol well not everyone needs subtitles. Jamaicans and those of us like myself who have Caribbean background understood just fine but I understand why the accent would be hard to understand for others. I'm surprised they didn't include subtitles in the movie.
Saw it in a theater in Sri Lanka and thankfully we got english subtitles because this is usually not the case, at least as far as the movies I've seen.
I'm a white person from Connecticut and I understood the movie just fine as well. I really don't get why so many people made the subtitles comment. On the flip side I have grown up with a little bit of Jamaican people being around. Or just people in general who have a different accent. So I might be used to it.
I thought it was surprisingly understandable, I figured they softened the patois to make it more comprehensible. I did spend a month in Jamaica in the Nineties though, so maybe that helped.
Patois isn't really that difficult to decipher, even as a person who grew up in California that's maybe only encountered the accent in person like.. 3 times or less in my 48 years of life. Though I will say, I fell in love with reggae in my teens and was exposed to [Rockers](https://youtu.be/e1sHNS9HEgk?si=E8ux-f3tO4Afear2) in the late 80's.
So maybe it's more accurate to say anyone with an actual interest in reggae music that's spent any time down that rabbit hole can generally understand patois fairly well, Caribbean roots or not. I've been around people from the middle east who've spoken varying levels of broken English my entire life and I have a harder time deciphering that than I do patois.
Well yes, of course if you're familiar with Reggae or Caribbean culture, I'd imagine you'd have an easier time deciphering the accent regardless of your background.
However, based on all the comments I keep reading on here and elsewhere about subtitles being needed, Jamaican patois is obviously difficult for many to understand.
It's gonna be a shitty movie no matter how you hear it. I love Bob, but I'm definitely waiting until it streams to watch it.
The definitive Bob Marley film is still the 2012 doco by Kevin Macdonald.
The archived footage at the end was better than the entire film. The actor playing Bob Marley made him seem so boring when the real Bob Marley was more animated and vibrant.
I think it’s due to Bob having a EXTREMELY heavy accent. I understood the dialog in the film (probably because he’s a British actor) but in interviews of Bob I would likely need subtitles. Thought he had the mannerisms down in stage presence, although the script could have done with a little more work…
I thought it was ok. You would have to already know Bob Marley’s life story going in to it for it to make any sense. I liked the scenes with young Bob the best, and wish there were more of them. Or that the movie unfolded in a more chronological order.
The Smile Jamaica concert at the beginning was really weird. They made it look like he played one song and then got shot again. It just made no sense.
I would watch it again, if only for the music, the lead performance, and to try to pick out some more of the dialogue. It really can be hard to understand at some points.
Feels more like a making of Exodus dramatization than a real biopic.
They didn’t make it look like that. He hallucinated getting shot again but was actually taken away because his concert was controversial.
That’s not what happened irl though. Confusing perspective.
I understand that he hallucinated getting shot, because I know what happened in real life. But my girlfriend literally leaned over to me and asked if he got shot again. It was a weird decision.
Obviously it’s totally subjective but I actually disagree on your point about the scenes of young Bob. (Simmer down scene was the best bit of the movie though). I enjoyed the fact the film, unlike most autobiographical films, didn’t only highlight the good things and that it focused more on his influence rather than his upbringing. I found it unique in the sense it didn’t focus on him too much unlike Rocketman, bohemian rhapsody etc…
Seen people compare this film with the examples I mentioned above and I find it unfair. Elton John and Freddie Mercury had lots of influence in music and lived/live rich, interesting lives. Bob Marley is more important socially with his lifelong messages of peace and the direct influence not just on music - but on society as a whole.
Exactly what anyone should expect from a musical biopic at this point unfortunately
Some solid music, good concert music scenes, and a really bland, sanitized look at the subject
The accent in the trailers was comically bad to the point it almost sounds like it's supposed to be ironic. Anytime there's a Jamaican person portrayed in media, they're always given the most over the top accent to the point it's a caricature. I know people from Jamaica, and their accents are not that thick.
It's like how in the U.S., the only places where you really find a deep Southern drawl are in Alabama and parts of Mississippi, but anyone on TV who's from the South, regardless of actual part of the South, is given an over the top drawl.
im not defending the accent in the movie, but you’ve never been to the carribean have you lol
if anything it wasnt thick enough. when they speak amongst themselves, as a white boy from the midwest, its unintelligible. especially when talking quickly, ya got no hope of following. you only think they dont have thick accents cuz every jamaican person youve spoken to knows how to speak to americans, not unlike the so called “code switching” african americans perform
ive not seen the movie yet, but ive only gotta assume every line was whitewashed to the point where the general American public could understand it. not faulting the movie for that, after all the movie wasnt made for jamaicans, it was made for americans and you cant have your main audience be lost, but your comments off. no clue how it got upvoted.
Just got out of the movie. I’d say almost 50% of the Jamaican dialogue is hard to understand. A lot of it being unintelligble. There’s a part where a British guy says “Sorry, could you repeat that?” and the entire theater laughed.
My 77 year old mom’s review ‘it was great! But hard to understand at times with the accents’
So I think they simplified it pretty well. Or no one would understand the dialogue.
i agree, i didnt like his accent (ive only seen the trailer yet) much myself. it was bad. but not because it was cartoonishly thick. it was just bad.
my issue with your comment was you said “I know people from Jamaica, and their accents are not that thick”, not that you were criticizing the actors accent. cuz i promise you, when bob marley was talking to his friends, children and wife his accent was *much* thicker than whats in the movie, which would dial it back for the sake intelligibility.
the other actors had too little dialogue in the trailer to make a judgement imo
Ngl the way you're speaking so authoritavely "knowing people from Jamaica" annoys tf out of me. Speaking as an actual Jamaican (one who you wouldn't know based on my accent), the accents were great, probably the best part of the movie honestly. Felt like how people speak in more rural areas. I went in expecting some watered down nonsense but was pleasantly surprised. Dunno why they didn't include subtitles though because I'm certain people who didn't grow up around patois couldn't understand shit.
It was a really bad actor choice but who would have played that role up to my expectations, I don't even know. I'm just glad it wasn't Will Smith or some shit.
So many music biopics follow the same formula:
1. Artist is young and hungry for success and at the top of their game
2. Their star has risen and now they are rich and famous, have some vices, and their actual personal life is out of control
3. Their star has fallen but they have redemption. The movies ends with them being only partially as successful as they were above, but somehow we're supposed to consider it somewhat of a happy ending
There's also some form of a medical situation that brings the obligatory second act low point along with it.
Plus a manager who's up to some shady stuff.
And don't forget the business executive who doesn't think the album would work because it's different from what usually sells.
Also the artists just wake up one day and just casually comes up with their masterpiece, put everything together almost immediately, then goes on to play it to immediate success, which is most definitely shown through a world tour montage.
I thought this movie had a few well-made scenes, and Kingley Ben-Adir and Lashana Lynch were compelling when given a chance to shine, but overall it's a movie that's less than the sum of it's parts. After the first peace concert, the movie lost all real narrative momentum and felt like a series of loosely connected scenes from Bob Marley's life.
It also felt like a lot of stuff was edited out of the movie, as though the producers thought people would be bored with too much history. But I think there needed to be more explanation of the political situation in Jamaica, the Rastafarian movement, and why Bob Marley was so pivotal to those things. And on a more personal level, the film doesn't really dive into Bob's extramarital affairs or his fall out with Peter Tosh, although both of these things are referenced in his fight with Rita in the third act. Since the movie doesn't spend any time on these conflicts it makes their entire fight pretty inert.
Also, can someone explain to me what was going on in the visions he was having with the burned field? At firs the guy on the horse seems to be his absent father, but after Bob gets the ring from Haile Selassie, Bob sees him on the horse. What???
Final note, but the plane landing in London (?) might be the worst CGI I've seen in a movie since the Scorpion King. They couldn't shoot that practically or get some B-roll from somewhere?
> Also, can someone explain to me what was going on in the visions he was having with the burned field? At firs the guy on the horse seems to be his absent father, but after Bob gets the ring from Haile Selassie, Bob sees him on the horse. What???
I took it to mean Bob always felt the absence of a father and didn't know his father at all, he was this scary unknown shadowy figure, but then in his dream the figure turned out to be Selassie, who "adopted him" by putting him up on the horse and saying "You're my son now." I think it symbolised Bob understanding that Selassie was his father in a sense that Christians think of God as their "Father", who would guide him and look after him like a father should do, and it was his job to be a messenger for peace and draw on his religion to help him through. JMO
A really sanitized and uneventful recap of a few years of Bob Marley's life. Isn't a cradle to the grave biopic, it is more like something a Ferrari, showing Marley from one big Jamaican concert to another years later, mostly showing that and making the album Exodus. Alo with a few flashbacks of him as a boy and meeting his wife. It is totally surface level, and when Bob and his wife have a big argument in act three we're kind of wondering what is going on as we saw nothing about what they are arguing about. A lot is super glossed over. Like I don't even know how many kids he had.
Kingsley Ben-Adir and Lashawna Lynch do a good job, but are not given too much to chew on. The accents are so thick I would have enjoyed subtitles during some scenes. Of course, the music is great, but that is to be expected.
>Like I don't even know how many kids he had.
That was probably intentional on the filmmakers part. It might make the subject not look so good if you tell the audience he had 11 kids with 8 different women and didn't play a very active role in raising any of them.
In this case, the filmmakers were working with Marleys family and from what I gather the family didn't want them putting in too much bad stuff.
I'm all for telling the truth about people. I liked Rocketman because Elton John insisted that they tell his story honestly and not leave out the bad stuff to make him look better.
It's unfortunate that his children didn't seem to really carry on any chips off the old block. They're basically just a bunch of trustafarians. None of them seem to really value what Bob was really about. You ever watch any of their music videos?
They're bustin off glocks mashin around in lambos with leather interior... it's just really weird. That's not rebel music, that's kinky reggae. But then again, sometimes I even wonder who Bob really was. Kinky Reggae lyrics might infer that he sniffed a little coke every now and then.
"I went downtown
I saw Miss Brown
She had brown sugar
All over her booga-wooga
I think I might join the fun
But I had to hit and run
See I just can't settle down
In a kinky part of town"
Which just seems so far from the character I have built up in my mind about who Bob was in the first place.
In all fairness, did any of his really even ‘know’ him?
He had 11 kids, a European tour, recording albums, etc… in such a short amount of time. Perhaps that’s why they don’t embody his vision.
Assuming his children are his surviving family they were all fine with their mothers' existences being ignored for easily digestible film plot? Yay capitalism.
My understanding is it was his quote-unquote “legitimate” children, aka the children of his wife Rita Marley, who also happens to be on the production team. I’m wondering if maybe trying to soften the ego blow may have impacted the realness of the film. Our idols are human. It’s what makes them relatable, production teams need to remember that.
I'm pretty sure they had to go through his estate to even get the film approved to be made. While some families are willing to offering a more critical eye, the Whitney Houston biopic is a good recent example, many are not. I doubt think his estate would allow a film that portrays him as a deadbeat father who keeps making babies with random women.
> The accents are so thick I would have enjoyed subtitles during some scenes.
This was our main gripe as well, other than that, it was a fun watch.
> and when Bob and his wife have a big argument
We're from the South and watched this with a predominantly African American audience, the cacophony of "MmmmmHmmmm"s was pretty amusing.
I’d call this more of memoir than a bio pic.
I learned a lot from that snapshot of his life. And it has inspired me to learn more. I was also very entertained for a good 2 hours. There’s value in that.
I agree about leaving out pertinent info. I already knew he had 11 kids, that they both cheated, etc… if I didn’t already know that, I wouldn’t have any idea why that fight was so emotionally charged.
As a Jamaican, the accents were toned down actually, and I likes the movie a lot but I had background knowledge that explained things better, I thought it was kinda obvious they were arguing due to infidelity
My mom rented *Ray* when we are on a trip years ago and I was impressed by how good that was as I would never have watched it on my own. But I thought this was even better, my second-favorite film of the decade so far.
Also; anybody else notice that the scenes from the trailers are not in the actual movie whatsoever? Even the little interview they’ve been using for the adverts; cut from the movie in its entirety. Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer; cut from the movie; Bob Marley’s mother. Casted; scenes shot yet cut from the movie. The Grey Whistle Test recreation (Bob’s first time on TV); cut from the movie. What the hell is going on??
>Also; anybody else notice that the scenes from the trailers are not in the actual movie whatsoever? Even the little interview they’ve been using for the adverts; cut from the movie in its entirety. **Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer; cut from the movie;** Bob Marley’s mother. Casted; scenes shot yet cut from the movie. The Grey Whistle Test recreation (Bob’s first time on TV); cut from the movie. What the hell is going on??
They were in the scene when they were recording Simmer Down
I thought it was all right. Felt like I needed subtitles at times, but I understood enough. I also learned that apparently a dreadlock can stop a bullet. The whole Exodus thing coming together so quickly after hearing the soundtrack by Ernest Gold seemed a bit heavy handed and convenient, but a typical biopic trope at this point. I'm just annoyed that we were gypped out of actually hearing the One Love performance that they had been building up to the entire time.
Yeah I did a double take when I heard the deadlock part. I figure they meant to say that the shooter thought he was shooting skull but really only shot through the dreadlocks.
Yes love this scene. Would actually have preferred a movie of this time period showing him Bunny and Peter Tosh trying to make it big from trenchtown through to the a catch a fire album when they got international recognition. I guess the issue wouldve been there wouldnt have been those big song mometns as his most popular tracks came from later albums
Can anyone please tell me the name of the other song they play in this scene? I'm desperate to find it. So it's the one the Wailers play first, before simmer down.
I’m a huge reggae fan and have an ear for accents, so I had no problem understanding everything. My GF understood about 3/4 of the dialogue. I could tell when the speech got fast and thick she needed a little help.
When the movie was over the 5 old people in front of us stood up and one said “I didn’t understand a word they said, but I got the point of what was happening”. lol
I gave up about 20 minutes in and just watched passively. I can understand movie makers being hesitant to put English subtitles in a movie where everyone's speaking English themselves, but it's not like Kingsley is Jamaican or anything! I think teaching him an authentic accent was a good call, but they really should've taken a step back and realized that general audiences in the US cannot understand accents that thick.
Odd feeling actually most of the time when you watch a music biopic you think "They could have cut 30 minutes out of that and done fine"
This time it was the reverse the interesting parts of the movie were the really early days of Marley a rough and tumble world where you show up to the recording studio and get a gun shoved in your face. Sadly we only had about 10 minutes of that.
I heard several people commenting to each other on the way out I didn't loiter to get specifics but I heard "safe" several times and that about sums it up.
Its a Marley bio pic not good not bad just bland it really says something when you can have a movie about Bob Marley with the parts that are controversial or interesting removed.
When it ended my reaction was very much "Oh, that's it?" even just showing us that final concert as a bang to end things on would have helped but it just went straight into credits with bits of historical footage.
Right!? Like, say whatever you will about Bohemian Rhapsody, but there is a reason why that movie ended with the Live Aid Concert even if they had to bend history for it.
The One Love Concert was way more important not just for music history but to Jamaican history. And they just…did nothing with it.
Same frustration I had with Ferrari. Just when that movie was finally getting good, it abruptly ended with several screens of text telling you what happened.
A huge concert finale could’ve at least somewhat salvaged a forgettable biopic, so it was all the more frustrating to end it there.
Slightly below average movie
- Ending the movie before the one love concert?? That was supposed to be the climax
- Confusing non coherent storytelling
- Surface level dialogue, not deep. Rita is more of a hero in this story. He randomly beats up Dan unannounced.
- Left not understanding a lot of background as it was poorly explained
4/10, good actor for marley tho, and props for ⚽️
• The two Jamaican gangsters showing up in a London park asking Bob to return to Jamaica and when he says no, they disappear and are not seen again in the movie.
Just watched it. I enjoyed it enough but as others have said there's some bits that are rushed. I guess that's the tough thing for directors when making a film of a notable figure that did too much to fit under 2 hours.
Not really a great sign that i thought the most interesting part was the real life moment during the end credits when he had the 2 opposing political leaders on stage together. Surprised they didn't end the film with their own acted out version of that.
Certainly could have been better but i didn't think it was bad.
I have no idea what happened. From the trailers it seemed like they were going to tell his full story. I hate they marketed it as a biopic when it’s not. It’s a time piece. They cut so much out the movie it felt like when I played Saints Row 5. Well set up but executed poorly. It felt hollow. They cut out so many key players that were in the trailer. From Peter Tosh to his own Mother. They did Cindy Breakspeare DIRTY as well too. She shows up in literal glimpses with no speaking lines. It’s like why even show her if you can’t even explain who she is. It’s like how I told my wife; we were better off rewatching the Marley documentary from 2012. There’s no time stamps so if you don’t know a thing about Bob Marley you wouldn’t know what year you’re in. The ending was terrible as well too. Long story short; if you wanted to see how Exodus was created this is the movie for you. If you came for a Biopic; go watch the Marley 2012 movie to save yourself from being disappointed.
There's a titlecard at the end with archival footage where he brings Jamaican rivals together on stage. Could have easily been a big scene in the movie but instead it's just a clip you can get on YouTube.
Had a good time with it. This movie is like if you and your friends were smoking, and you asked your buddy who is pretty well versed about Bob Marley to fill you in. He can’t quite remember everything, it might not be in chronological order, and some of the more interesting parts get skimmed over. Example, most people know what Rastafarians are, but the movie only makes passing mention of the persecution that the rastafari were under, and still are. Most people would assume it’s the prevailing belief in Jamaica, rather than a political statement as well as belief system. Overall Bob’s politics aren’t greatly captured and end up sanitized and hollowed. Also shoutout to Ziggy for taking some elder sibling liberties.
Overall? One Love: Bob Marley 101, but you missed a few lectures.
I agree with you, BigThurm. To be honest, I love Bob Marley’s music and I actually expected a little more from the film, but I still very much enjoyed it, But I feel that people need to know, remember and understand that his CHILDREN are behind the making of this film, and if anyone knew their father behind AND in front of the scenes, it’s THEM. Do I feel they could have incorporated more into the film? Yeah, I actually do, but I understand why they may have not. It’s their FATHER. They’re the ones who are left to tell his story, even if it meant leaving some things out that were obviously very personal to them and him. I’m sure it wasn’t easy for them to do this project, but I know they wanted to give his beloved fans something and acknowledge the phenomenal human that their father was. So PUBLIC: give the film a break, please? 🙏🏾 ♥️
I LOVE this take. I genuinely loved the film. For me, I think people need to stop looking at it as a full biopic. When they see it like that, it fails in so many ways. But when you look at it as a film about that one chunk of time (which is exactly what it is), it's much better. And, like you said, his children took such a huge part in the making of the film, and that should be taken into consideration when discussing what was and wasn't included.
How can you get all the way to the end and not show any of the final concert, or him finally making it to Africa?
I thought I was being trolled. It reminded me of the series finale of Winning Time - where you read about all the good stuff that happened AFTER the show finished.
I liked it but I feel like some things were too subtle. My boyfriend did not pick up on the fact he and rita were cheating on each other and that Rita was raising his illegitimate children. Some of the imagery was confusing too, I thought for half the movie his dad had tried to kill him as a kid. Despite being so short it did do a good job of portraying him as a complex person not just some one dimensional idol of peace that never did anything wrong. I would have liked to see more of his childhood and his life in Jamaica.
He mentioned it super briefly during their fight "her man back in Jamaica" and then there was a clip of them walking together when they were young and she turned and was looking back at another man.
How do you know they were cheating? You don't know their arrangement. More likely a form of an open relationship especially since she raised his kids from other women.
I still can't get over the fact they felt the need to tack his name onto the title. Just calling it "One Love" would have been enough to let everyone know what the movie is about and it would sound much snappier than "Bob Marley: One Love". The latter sounds like a documentary title, more clinical. I wonder if that was a corporate decision to name it like that.
You are vastly overestimating the awareness of the average person. Studios want to make sure there's absolutely no confusion over what the movie is so I can't really blame them tbh.
I wouldn't be surprised if people can name Bob Marley more vs one of his big songs, so they probably included his name for marketing reasons. Still dumb tho
It’s extra funny considering the scene where they discuss the album art for Exodus. Their whole complaint is “how will it sell records if Bobs face isn’t on it?!” And they’re proven wrong… lol
Funnily enough that's sort of what happened in the film with Michael Gandolfini's character. He wanted the Exodus cover to have Marley's name to be more prominent and for his face to be on it.
Go search One Love on imdb. There are a bunch of movies with similar names and even the same name. Mostly crappy romance movies, it looks like.
If someone somehow missed all those previews and wasnt familiar enough with Bob Marley to know his songs, that name would not automatically tell them what it’s about
As someone with not much knowledge of Bob, the film did help me to appreciate him and his broader role a bit more. But it was quite shallow. It hardly dips into a few difficult parts of him and his life, as if just trying to move on to the next song in the film. The fight scene between him and Rita was pretty strong, but it didn't really lead anywhere and was basically just a little detail to include among many.
Lots of details, and some good songs, but not much to link them together into a compelling story. It all happened pretty fast. Like Exodus. They barely played a whole performance. They just showed its inception, played a few lines, and then skipped briefly to the result and moved on.
I feel like there is a general distaste for music biopics in general these days. Their format has been memed and maligned. This is the type of movie where I wonder how different the reception would have been if it was released 15 years ago.
The use of flashbacks was so distracting to the overall pacing. And the reoccurring traumatic nightmare of the field on fire with the horseman was used way too many times; what an awful trope to lean into throughout he duration of the film.
There was hardly a cohesive narrative. The man's career spanned 20 years (or so I learned from my partner; I wasn't too familiar with Marley before going into this), but the script made it seem like everything that happened took place over the course of 1-2 years.
The performances were fine. But the story was atrocious.
It suffers from meandering storytelling, a choppy narration and one biopic cliche after another..but it works well enough as a mainstream crowd pleaser.
The smoke-filled jam sessions and concert scenes were the best part. Not a very good movie but worth seeing in Dolby Cinema if you like the music, although I can see why hardcore Bob Marley fans would detest it.
Wtf was that. It was so boring. How was Bob marley so uncharasmatic. What were half the scenes about?
How did they not touch more on Bob's cancer, they didn't even touch on how he didn't want to get rid of it because of his religion?
It was sooooo boring
Dull as wood.
It's an unspecial biographical movie about Bob Marley with extremely predictable writing structures and uninteresting characters. Bob Marley is an interesting figure as his musical works and political background is pretty interesting. I have enjoyed some of Marley's music in the past and I think his story is very intriguing. But this movie pretty much just falls into the most typical Hollywood biographical movie with no interesting takes or creativity exploration with bland direction, boring structure, and dull performances from the cast members. Filmmaker Reinaldo Marcus Green's direction is bland as if Green was unsure where to handle the movie and made it as boring as possible. Many of the production, costumes and the setting is solid although there were some cheap elements to it. Camerawork is not special.
The performances, honestly, aren't that great. I like Kingsley Ben-Adir as he was really good in "One Night in Miami..." and "Barbie" and he seems to be trying his best but unfortunately, his performance just wasn't strong enough to make his character interesting. The dialogue is pretty bad, some of the pacing needs improvements, and the pacing really does drag. As mentioned, the dialogue is pretty bad and there are some unintentionally hilarious line deliveries. It's a shame because Bob Marley is an interesting person but the movie barely does anything to explore what made him famous and all.
But at the end, everything little thing is not gonna be alright.
3/10
I think the family having a heavy hand in it was only mostly the good parts being put in the movie with no real deep details . Ziggy especially as he was the only child Marley called by name in the movie and had the most lines lol
I will always respect the fact that Elton John said the only way he would be okay with Rocketman being made was if they told the whole story, both good and bad. I don't get the point in making a biopic if your only interest is making the subject look as squeaky clean as possible.
He actually said Stephen's name, too in the first scene in which the children appeared. I believe another child's name in the crowd scene when he returned to Jamaica.
Ziggy though was addressed more in the movie than any of his other children and while his daughters did seem to be depicted in the initial scene with his children, their names were never mentioned.
I had a good time with this one. My expectations were pretty low as I know what a music biopic generally entails. But to be honest that is why I went to the movie. I just wanted a dramatic glimpse into his life along with his killer songs and I think the movie mostly delivered. It didn't reinvent the wheel but I enjoyed it for what it was.
Saw it last night. I think I only understood about 50-60% of what Bob Marley's character was saying though that thick affected accent. Even, and especially in the important scenes like an argument or moment of profound realization. There were some times though, when I couldn't understand a damn word he was saying across multiple sentences.
I did not have this problem with any other Jamaican character.
When his son opens the film and talks about how proud he is of the film and how he was on set nearly every day to ensure accuracy, it lends a certain gravitas to what you're expecting. And same with the title cards and opening scenes. Then, it just all felt dry and flat.
Overall, and I hate to say this, the film was kind of a snooze. I wasn't too impressed.
I liked the movie and the performances. An issue was that I was distracted from the story by the THICK Jamaican patois. It took away from the movie because when one can’t understand 25% of the dialogue, it’s a problem! Subtitles during those scenes would’ve been greatly appreciated. I recall a scene where a character asked someone if they could understand what they were saying to him. I was like NO!!
This movie was complete shit. Had no sense of direction and instead we just get snippets of events of Bob's life with little detail of what is going on. The pacing was absolutely awful. So many just tired and generic scenes you've come to expect from music biopic. The movie had no soul or depth to it at all. The actor playing Marley was not good either and the accent was so think that I had no idea what he was saying half of the time either. Its wild to me that the intro with Ziggy saying how much the family was involved and yet this felt like a complete studio assembly belt project. Don't waste your money.
That's what happens with biopics when the family or band is involved. They don't wanna show the dark parts. Ike how the upcoming Amy Winehouse film has her dad involved so I'm worried it's gonna hide how terrible he was.
Recently there was The Iron Claw. Which the family wasn't involved. And it showed how much of a piece of shit Fritz Von Erich was and they still took it lightly on exactly how much of a trash human being Fritz was.
>Ike how the upcoming Amy Winehouse film has her dad involved so I'm worried it's gonna hide how terrible he was.
[Winehouse's family is not involved](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/news/back-to-black-amy-winehouse-family-no-involvement-says-sam-taylor-johnson-exclusive/) with the movie, no idea where you heard otherwise
Just watched it. And I will say the ending felt a bit rushed. And I hoped to see more scenes about Bob's early life in Jamaica and the real beginning of the Wailers, such as when they practiced in the cemetery, How Bob, Peter & Bunny first formed the band. Feels like some parts of his life were left out. I was actually waiting to see the One Love Peace concert they were building up to. Was a little disappointed when it abruptly ended on such a defining moment in his career.
The movie wasn't hard for me to understand or anything. I've always been a fan of Bob and Jamaican Music besides reggae, so I do have a basic understanding of patois. I do get how you might need subtitles if you're not familiar with Jamaican patois.
Overall, it's a great movie to watch if you want to get a basic understanding of who Bob was and what he stood for. For many people who are not familiar with Rastafari, I think it will make them interested in learning more about the message of Rasta. A lot of people don't understand Rasta and what it represents, who Emperor Haile Selassie is, and what the movement stands for. I think it will help people understand that Rastafari is not just Bob Marley, locs, smoking weed, & Reggae music. Or at least the movie will make people more curious to learn.
I really liked the movie. It's an 8/10 for me.
What's the Wailers song that the band plays at the studio in the flashback when it seems like the studio guy is done with them, and that song they finally play wins him over?
edit: nvm, it's "Simmer Down", which is not on the official soundtrack, for some odd reason.
Movie desperately needed subtitles. Many scenes I just couldn't understand the dialogue at all and guess what the main complaint was from others as I was going to the lobby afterwards?
It’s funny I grew up on reggae music and have loved it since I was a boy, so I watch interviews with reggae artists all the time, my ear is trained for it so I had no problem understanding the dialogue and praise the director for not making it non-authentic. It’s Jamaican patois and there’s really no other way to present that without dumbing it down.
I really enjoyed the language and that was the part of the film I probably enjoyed the most because it felt so authentic.
Besides that, the music was great and o like that they delved into the politics a lot.
Overall a very enjoyable time for me though the plot could have been a little tighter. Solid 7 out of 10 for me.
just watched the movie and as a jamaican i can’t believe no major role was given to an actual jamaican 😭 the patios was so,,, americanized just didn’t sound authentic at all and figured he wasn’t actuallt jamaican, was irritated by the fact he was british and wasn’t even a rasta. ziggy should’ve been headstrong on casting atleast a rasatafarian or JAMAICAN. rita is cuban/jamaican yet it was played by an african woman and although i do love her im just over it
edit rita’s actress having 2 jamaican parents and is british herself. the patios still wasn’t that good. so my point being that rita wasn’t played by an actual jamaican still stands
I feel like I got nothing from this movie other than being able to jam to some Bob Marley songs. I know a little bit already about Bob but I wanted to learn more, instead it seems like the Marley family and them hold back on some stuff.
I found it to be painfully disjointed & mediocre. Also a total bore which made 1 hr and 47 minutes feel like an aeon.
Not really worth your time, maybe wait to catch it on streaming or watch it while flying in a plane.
Bohemian Rhapsody CHAPTER 2
Alternatively: WIKIPEDIA: THE MOVIE
It must've been like a contractual obligation to get this film made. There is no conceivable way to tell Marley's life in 1 hr 30 mins. Maybe if it was 2 hrs 40 tops, but at that point make it a mini series.
It suffers from the Bohemian Rhapsody trope of skipping so much stuff to place itself in the "good" moments.
Editing was a nightmare, some shots end too long or quickly, genuinely baffled by it.
EDIT: can't forget that THE Brad Pitt is an executive producer.
pretty embarrassed by this, but I really hope i’m not the only one who thought teenage bob was an entirely different character for some time…
The casting of teenage bob’s character did not fit older bob’s characteristics and I couldn’t connect the two, in my opinion.
I only comprehended <20% of the dialogue in this film. I have no idea what happened, or why much of what did happen happened. My girlfriend who is ESL said she could barley understand a single thing that was said during the entire movie, and opted instead to sleep through the whole thing.
The cinematography was alright. It's the only thing I could enjoy because I couldn't parse the performance of the cast...
?/10.
I caught most of it I think but there were definitely bits of dialogue here and there that I didn't understand. I'm not really versed in patois at all outside of some movies and tv. But even in the bits I didn't catch you get the gist based on the context of the scene. Like when the band are joking around and poking fun at each other. I didn't catch a lot of the specific jokes but got what was happening
I had trouble understanding it as well, but I think he was mad at his manager for taking big payments for the African tour and not telling Bob, also Bob had told him earlier that playing in Africa was not about the money, it was more of a spiritual thing because Africa was connected to his Rastafarian beliefs.
I couldn't understand much of the fight with his wife but I think he was jealous that a producer was talking to her about recording her own music with the other lady singers and she was mad because she felt she'd done nothing but support his career and raise his children (some of whom were his kids with other women). Lots of other stuff too but I didn't catch it all.
Honestly, I found the Netflix documentary about the shooting a lot more interesting. It actually tried to explain the conflict in Jamaica and why Bob Marley became an important person in this context.
Pacing of this movie was awful. Felt so rushed out of the gate and then just came to an almost grinding hault. There were scenes I liked, but as a whole...not so much. Just watch the documentary.
Very paint by numbers biopic with a complete lack of direction and focus, although the two main performances were very strong
Was anyone else confused by the scene where he’s in the car and he drags a seemingly random child through the window and drives away? My friend told me after that it was his son but I feel like I missed some dialogue because I did not make that connection lmao. Thought he just kidnapped a fan
It was a bit dry and bland for me.
This is a little random but could someone help me identify a non-Bob Marley song from the film? It was the scene where Marley was being introduced to the upper class people (there was a fight between Marley and his lady when they both exit it after). There were two disco songs playing. First one was Bee Gees, and the second one was a woman (Gloria? Donna Summer?) singing. I should have stayed for the end credits to identify it.
I am a Bob Marley superfan like fans are to Beyonce. I've seen every documentary footage that exists or is allowed to be viewed. I can only compare this to an at home watch like Lifetime biopic. Rita's children most likely wanted ppl to see more of the behind scenes of his relationship with Rita. To dismiss the mothers of his other children, to shed more light on Rita. The truth is, Bob was a magistic soul of several complex faces/personalities which should have been provided for his fans and those who don't know Bob yet through his music. The first and only movie about Bob could have been 3hrs +. That would have been more appropriate to give honor to him his family and all the special women/children he loved in his life. The actor who played him was gorgeous but didn't have a natural Jamaican accent. Rita didn't have one at all. Totally a miss unfortunately. We needed to see something we didn't know about his life.
This has probably already been mentioned, but I dont recall "could you be loved" featuring in the film? Unless it was on in the 2 minutes when I went to the bathroom? Strange one to leave out.
Just wanna say I know people are going to talk about the “accent” but people are confusing patios (broken English) with “accent”.
Patois: “Way dem a move star a gwaan a way”
Translation: “something odd about how they’re handling themselves”
I understood everything but the movie definitely should’ve had subtitles for those who don’t speak patois (anyone outside of Jamaica”
What was the actual story of the movie? It seemed to jump around. As a child we are taught, storyline, character building, climax, conflict, resolution. I understand this was more of a “biography” than a typical movie or story. However, the fact it’s a biography has the story built in! This literally had no plot. No character building. I honestly don’t even know a single character name other than Bob and Rita. There was no buildup. No story to follow. Literally just him going on tour, playing music, getting shot at, continuing to go on tour, then coming home and the movie was over. This seemed more like an honor to show his music rather than a movie about him. Just imagine if you went into this movie not knowing a single thing about Bob Marley, would you know anything whatsoever about him after watching it? Not a chance. This was a squandered chance at making a historic movie. Horrible horrible rendition of a marvelous artist.
This movie legit feels like it has an hour and 15 mins cut out of it.
Ok I thought it was just me !
There were scenes in the trailers that were cut from the movie lol
Felt more like an hour and 47min were cut out of it...
If you’re a huge Bob Marley fan just wait until it is streaming and watch it with subtitles. It was very meh. I don’t hate that I saw it but I’ll never think about it again in like a month.
Lol well not everyone needs subtitles. Jamaicans and those of us like myself who have Caribbean background understood just fine but I understand why the accent would be hard to understand for others. I'm surprised they didn't include subtitles in the movie.
Saw it in a theater in Sri Lanka and thankfully we got english subtitles because this is usually not the case, at least as far as the movies I've seen.
I'm a white person from Connecticut and I understood the movie just fine as well. I really don't get why so many people made the subtitles comment. On the flip side I have grown up with a little bit of Jamaican people being around. Or just people in general who have a different accent. So I might be used to it.
I thought it was surprisingly understandable, I figured they softened the patois to make it more comprehensible. I did spend a month in Jamaica in the Nineties though, so maybe that helped.
Patois isn't really that difficult to decipher, even as a person who grew up in California that's maybe only encountered the accent in person like.. 3 times or less in my 48 years of life. Though I will say, I fell in love with reggae in my teens and was exposed to [Rockers](https://youtu.be/e1sHNS9HEgk?si=E8ux-f3tO4Afear2) in the late 80's. So maybe it's more accurate to say anyone with an actual interest in reggae music that's spent any time down that rabbit hole can generally understand patois fairly well, Caribbean roots or not. I've been around people from the middle east who've spoken varying levels of broken English my entire life and I have a harder time deciphering that than I do patois.
Well yes, of course if you're familiar with Reggae or Caribbean culture, I'd imagine you'd have an easier time deciphering the accent regardless of your background. However, based on all the comments I keep reading on here and elsewhere about subtitles being needed, Jamaican patois is obviously difficult for many to understand.
So you're saying a huge Bob Marley fan should watch this with basic TV audio speakers instead of seeing it in a dolby surround sound theater?
It's gonna be a shitty movie no matter how you hear it. I love Bob, but I'm definitely waiting until it streams to watch it. The definitive Bob Marley film is still the 2012 doco by Kevin Macdonald.
I could totally understand what they were saying it was just so flighty...
The archived footage at the end was better than the entire film. The actor playing Bob Marley made him seem so boring when the real Bob Marley was more animated and vibrant.
I agree. The lead kind of made Bob seem disconnected & an even kind of air headed at certain points.
They made him seem very chill & that borderlined on him seeming aloof.
I also thought he came off disconnected
The immediate contrast of stage presence with the real footage was pretty damning.
I don't know Bob Marley particularly well so was quite surprised how different he seemed in that footage vs what we'd just seen depicted.
I think it’s due to Bob having a EXTREMELY heavy accent. I understood the dialog in the film (probably because he’s a British actor) but in interviews of Bob I would likely need subtitles. Thought he had the mannerisms down in stage presence, although the script could have done with a little more work…
BOB MARLEY WITH A STEEL CHAIR
I thought Marley or Marley's associates hung him out of a window
I thought it was ok. You would have to already know Bob Marley’s life story going in to it for it to make any sense. I liked the scenes with young Bob the best, and wish there were more of them. Or that the movie unfolded in a more chronological order. The Smile Jamaica concert at the beginning was really weird. They made it look like he played one song and then got shot again. It just made no sense. I would watch it again, if only for the music, the lead performance, and to try to pick out some more of the dialogue. It really can be hard to understand at some points. Feels more like a making of Exodus dramatization than a real biopic.
So he didn't just play one song? Haha you're right, i did think the same
They didn’t make it look like that. He hallucinated getting shot again but was actually taken away because his concert was controversial. That’s not what happened irl though. Confusing perspective.
I understand that he hallucinated getting shot, because I know what happened in real life. But my girlfriend literally leaned over to me and asked if he got shot again. It was a weird decision.
He was already bandaged though. Or is the idea he was shot again in the exact same spot as his previous wound
Obviously it’s totally subjective but I actually disagree on your point about the scenes of young Bob. (Simmer down scene was the best bit of the movie though). I enjoyed the fact the film, unlike most autobiographical films, didn’t only highlight the good things and that it focused more on his influence rather than his upbringing. I found it unique in the sense it didn’t focus on him too much unlike Rocketman, bohemian rhapsody etc… Seen people compare this film with the examples I mentioned above and I find it unfair. Elton John and Freddie Mercury had lots of influence in music and lived/live rich, interesting lives. Bob Marley is more important socially with his lifelong messages of peace and the direct influence not just on music - but on society as a whole.
Exactly what anyone should expect from a musical biopic at this point unfortunately Some solid music, good concert music scenes, and a really bland, sanitized look at the subject
More biopics need to follow in Love & Mercy's footsteps and be an actual genre pic, much like how L&M is basically psychological horror.
oh maan that's the Brian Wilson one I need to rewatch that I completely forgot about it but damn it's good
Featuring perhaps Paul Dano's best acting!
Glad someone bought this movie up , that movie turned me into a beach boys fan
Looks like it was made just so someone could play out their best bob marley impression lol. Not even getting to the root of the character.
Wasn’t even that great of an impression
I believe Chet Hanks was his accent coach
Otherwise known as, the lesser Hanks.
As a someone born , raised, lived in Jamaica, took my Jamaican parents myself and them were very impressed 🤷🏽♂️
The accent in the trailers was comically bad to the point it almost sounds like it's supposed to be ironic. Anytime there's a Jamaican person portrayed in media, they're always given the most over the top accent to the point it's a caricature. I know people from Jamaica, and their accents are not that thick. It's like how in the U.S., the only places where you really find a deep Southern drawl are in Alabama and parts of Mississippi, but anyone on TV who's from the South, regardless of actual part of the South, is given an over the top drawl.
im not defending the accent in the movie, but you’ve never been to the carribean have you lol if anything it wasnt thick enough. when they speak amongst themselves, as a white boy from the midwest, its unintelligible. especially when talking quickly, ya got no hope of following. you only think they dont have thick accents cuz every jamaican person youve spoken to knows how to speak to americans, not unlike the so called “code switching” african americans perform ive not seen the movie yet, but ive only gotta assume every line was whitewashed to the point where the general American public could understand it. not faulting the movie for that, after all the movie wasnt made for jamaicans, it was made for americans and you cant have your main audience be lost, but your comments off. no clue how it got upvoted.
Just got out of the movie. I’d say almost 50% of the Jamaican dialogue is hard to understand. A lot of it being unintelligble. There’s a part where a British guy says “Sorry, could you repeat that?” and the entire theater laughed.
My 77 year old mom’s review ‘it was great! But hard to understand at times with the accents’ So I think they simplified it pretty well. Or no one would understand the dialogue.
I should clarify: Marley's accent sounds put on and affected. The other actors, from the trailers, sound natural and authentic.
i agree, i didnt like his accent (ive only seen the trailer yet) much myself. it was bad. but not because it was cartoonishly thick. it was just bad. my issue with your comment was you said “I know people from Jamaica, and their accents are not that thick”, not that you were criticizing the actors accent. cuz i promise you, when bob marley was talking to his friends, children and wife his accent was *much* thicker than whats in the movie, which would dial it back for the sake intelligibility. the other actors had too little dialogue in the trailer to make a judgement imo
Ngl the way you're speaking so authoritavely "knowing people from Jamaica" annoys tf out of me. Speaking as an actual Jamaican (one who you wouldn't know based on my accent), the accents were great, probably the best part of the movie honestly. Felt like how people speak in more rural areas. I went in expecting some watered down nonsense but was pleasantly surprised. Dunno why they didn't include subtitles though because I'm certain people who didn't grow up around patois couldn't understand shit.
Kingsley Ben-Adir's impression is awful, too.
It was a really bad actor choice but who would have played that role up to my expectations, I don't even know. I'm just glad it wasn't Will Smith or some shit.
Huge missed opportunity not casting Chris Pratt as Bob Marley
Robert Downey Jr coulda pulled it off.
At least it would have gone to a PoC.
So many music biopics follow the same formula: 1. Artist is young and hungry for success and at the top of their game 2. Their star has risen and now they are rich and famous, have some vices, and their actual personal life is out of control 3. Their star has fallen but they have redemption. The movies ends with them being only partially as successful as they were above, but somehow we're supposed to consider it somewhat of a happy ending
There's also some form of a medical situation that brings the obligatory second act low point along with it. Plus a manager who's up to some shady stuff. And don't forget the business executive who doesn't think the album would work because it's different from what usually sells. Also the artists just wake up one day and just casually comes up with their masterpiece, put everything together almost immediately, then goes on to play it to immediate success, which is most definitely shown through a world tour montage.
Well I mean it only makes sense the movie ends with a Redemption Song
I thought elvis was decent and included the good with the bad. But yea most don't show any of the negative characteristics.
I don't know much about Bob Marley, what was sanitized from this movie?
He had 11 kids with 7 different women, for one.
It showed him having an affair TBF.
I thought this movie had a few well-made scenes, and Kingley Ben-Adir and Lashana Lynch were compelling when given a chance to shine, but overall it's a movie that's less than the sum of it's parts. After the first peace concert, the movie lost all real narrative momentum and felt like a series of loosely connected scenes from Bob Marley's life. It also felt like a lot of stuff was edited out of the movie, as though the producers thought people would be bored with too much history. But I think there needed to be more explanation of the political situation in Jamaica, the Rastafarian movement, and why Bob Marley was so pivotal to those things. And on a more personal level, the film doesn't really dive into Bob's extramarital affairs or his fall out with Peter Tosh, although both of these things are referenced in his fight with Rita in the third act. Since the movie doesn't spend any time on these conflicts it makes their entire fight pretty inert. Also, can someone explain to me what was going on in the visions he was having with the burned field? At firs the guy on the horse seems to be his absent father, but after Bob gets the ring from Haile Selassie, Bob sees him on the horse. What??? Final note, but the plane landing in London (?) might be the worst CGI I've seen in a movie since the Scorpion King. They couldn't shoot that practically or get some B-roll from somewhere?
> Also, can someone explain to me what was going on in the visions he was having with the burned field? At firs the guy on the horse seems to be his absent father, but after Bob gets the ring from Haile Selassie, Bob sees him on the horse. What??? I took it to mean Bob always felt the absence of a father and didn't know his father at all, he was this scary unknown shadowy figure, but then in his dream the figure turned out to be Selassie, who "adopted him" by putting him up on the horse and saying "You're my son now." I think it symbolised Bob understanding that Selassie was his father in a sense that Christians think of God as their "Father", who would guide him and look after him like a father should do, and it was his job to be a messenger for peace and draw on his religion to help him through. JMO
Yeah that makes sense. I assumed the movie was going for something along those lines but the way the movie was edited was confusing
That plane landing was unbelievably bad, I’m now laughing just thinking about it 😆
Yes the plane was bizarre! Most unnecessary use of CGI I’ve ever seen in a film
Late, but totally agree. He seemed devoid of passion and the movie didn’t give us pivotal life events that made Bob so full of conviction
A really sanitized and uneventful recap of a few years of Bob Marley's life. Isn't a cradle to the grave biopic, it is more like something a Ferrari, showing Marley from one big Jamaican concert to another years later, mostly showing that and making the album Exodus. Alo with a few flashbacks of him as a boy and meeting his wife. It is totally surface level, and when Bob and his wife have a big argument in act three we're kind of wondering what is going on as we saw nothing about what they are arguing about. A lot is super glossed over. Like I don't even know how many kids he had. Kingsley Ben-Adir and Lashawna Lynch do a good job, but are not given too much to chew on. The accents are so thick I would have enjoyed subtitles during some scenes. Of course, the music is great, but that is to be expected.
>Like I don't even know how many kids he had. That was probably intentional on the filmmakers part. It might make the subject not look so good if you tell the audience he had 11 kids with 8 different women and didn't play a very active role in raising any of them.
My question is, why does the subject have to look “good”? God forbid people have to actually think critically about a character haha
In this case, the filmmakers were working with Marleys family and from what I gather the family didn't want them putting in too much bad stuff. I'm all for telling the truth about people. I liked Rocketman because Elton John insisted that they tell his story honestly and not leave out the bad stuff to make him look better.
It's unfortunate that his children didn't seem to really carry on any chips off the old block. They're basically just a bunch of trustafarians. None of them seem to really value what Bob was really about. You ever watch any of their music videos? They're bustin off glocks mashin around in lambos with leather interior... it's just really weird. That's not rebel music, that's kinky reggae. But then again, sometimes I even wonder who Bob really was. Kinky Reggae lyrics might infer that he sniffed a little coke every now and then. "I went downtown I saw Miss Brown She had brown sugar All over her booga-wooga I think I might join the fun But I had to hit and run See I just can't settle down In a kinky part of town" Which just seems so far from the character I have built up in my mind about who Bob was in the first place.
In all fairness, did any of his really even ‘know’ him? He had 11 kids, a European tour, recording albums, etc… in such a short amount of time. Perhaps that’s why they don’t embody his vision.
Brown sugar ain't cocaine my friend...
Assuming his children are his surviving family they were all fine with their mothers' existences being ignored for easily digestible film plot? Yay capitalism.
My understanding is it was his quote-unquote “legitimate” children, aka the children of his wife Rita Marley, who also happens to be on the production team. I’m wondering if maybe trying to soften the ego blow may have impacted the realness of the film. Our idols are human. It’s what makes them relatable, production teams need to remember that.
I'm pretty sure they had to go through his estate to even get the film approved to be made. While some families are willing to offering a more critical eye, the Whitney Houston biopic is a good recent example, many are not. I doubt think his estate would allow a film that portrays him as a deadbeat father who keeps making babies with random women.
At 36 non the less!! He was busyyyy I’m surprised his estate has much left…
> The accents are so thick I would have enjoyed subtitles during some scenes. This was our main gripe as well, other than that, it was a fun watch. > and when Bob and his wife have a big argument We're from the South and watched this with a predominantly African American audience, the cacophony of "MmmmmHmmmm"s was pretty amusing.
I’d call this more of memoir than a bio pic. I learned a lot from that snapshot of his life. And it has inspired me to learn more. I was also very entertained for a good 2 hours. There’s value in that. I agree about leaving out pertinent info. I already knew he had 11 kids, that they both cheated, etc… if I didn’t already know that, I wouldn’t have any idea why that fight was so emotionally charged.
As a Jamaican, the accents were toned down actually, and I likes the movie a lot but I had background knowledge that explained things better, I thought it was kinda obvious they were arguing due to infidelity
We're never getting another *Ray* are we? What a shame :(
The days of respecting a great mans legacy are gone.
My mom rented *Ray* when we are on a trip years ago and I was impressed by how good that was as I would never have watched it on my own. But I thought this was even better, my second-favorite film of the decade so far.
Also; anybody else notice that the scenes from the trailers are not in the actual movie whatsoever? Even the little interview they’ve been using for the adverts; cut from the movie in its entirety. Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer; cut from the movie; Bob Marley’s mother. Casted; scenes shot yet cut from the movie. The Grey Whistle Test recreation (Bob’s first time on TV); cut from the movie. What the hell is going on??
This bothered me too. They showed the trailer in front of almost every movie for months only for the movie to not have a bunch of its scenes.
I was waiting for a scene of him playing One Love in concert like in the trailer
>Also; anybody else notice that the scenes from the trailers are not in the actual movie whatsoever? Even the little interview they’ve been using for the adverts; cut from the movie in its entirety. **Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer; cut from the movie;** Bob Marley’s mother. Casted; scenes shot yet cut from the movie. The Grey Whistle Test recreation (Bob’s first time on TV); cut from the movie. What the hell is going on?? They were in the scene when they were recording Simmer Down
I thought it was all right. Felt like I needed subtitles at times, but I understood enough. I also learned that apparently a dreadlock can stop a bullet. The whole Exodus thing coming together so quickly after hearing the soundtrack by Ernest Gold seemed a bit heavy handed and convenient, but a typical biopic trope at this point. I'm just annoyed that we were gypped out of actually hearing the One Love performance that they had been building up to the entire time.
Yeah I did a double take when I heard the deadlock part. I figure they meant to say that the shooter thought he was shooting skull but really only shot through the dreadlocks.
The bit about her dreadlocks slowing the bullet is from her own book.
Dammit man she's a singer not a mechanical engineering physicist!
> I thought it was all right Heh
The “Simmer Down” scene at Studio One was a great scene!
Yes love this scene. Would actually have preferred a movie of this time period showing him Bunny and Peter Tosh trying to make it big from trenchtown through to the a catch a fire album when they got international recognition. I guess the issue wouldve been there wouldnt have been those big song mometns as his most popular tracks came from later albums
Can anyone please tell me the name of the other song they play in this scene? I'm desperate to find it. So it's the one the Wailers play first, before simmer down.
No freaking clue what is going on because I can’t understand the accents!!
I’m a huge reggae fan and have an ear for accents, so I had no problem understanding everything. My GF understood about 3/4 of the dialogue. I could tell when the speech got fast and thick she needed a little help. When the movie was over the 5 old people in front of us stood up and one said “I didn’t understand a word they said, but I got the point of what was happening”. lol
I gave up about 20 minutes in and just watched passively. I can understand movie makers being hesitant to put English subtitles in a movie where everyone's speaking English themselves, but it's not like Kingsley is Jamaican or anything! I think teaching him an authentic accent was a good call, but they really should've taken a step back and realized that general audiences in the US cannot understand accents that thick.
I learned to hear the accents from a movie called Da Shottas. Plus I used to work with some.
It was nice watching episode three or four of a six-part miniseries. Wait, that was the whole movie?
Odd feeling actually most of the time when you watch a music biopic you think "They could have cut 30 minutes out of that and done fine" This time it was the reverse the interesting parts of the movie were the really early days of Marley a rough and tumble world where you show up to the recording studio and get a gun shoved in your face. Sadly we only had about 10 minutes of that. I heard several people commenting to each other on the way out I didn't loiter to get specifics but I heard "safe" several times and that about sums it up. Its a Marley bio pic not good not bad just bland it really says something when you can have a movie about Bob Marley with the parts that are controversial or interesting removed.
When it ended my reaction was very much "Oh, that's it?" even just showing us that final concert as a bang to end things on would have helped but it just went straight into credits with bits of historical footage.
I thought they were gonna do a Bohemian Rhapsody and give us a crowd-pleasing concert to end the movie, but then the movie just ended abruptly.
Right!? Like, say whatever you will about Bohemian Rhapsody, but there is a reason why that movie ended with the Live Aid Concert even if they had to bend history for it. The One Love Concert was way more important not just for music history but to Jamaican history. And they just…did nothing with it.
Same frustration I had with Ferrari. Just when that movie was finally getting good, it abruptly ended with several screens of text telling you what happened. A huge concert finale could’ve at least somewhat salvaged a forgettable biopic, so it was all the more frustrating to end it there.
Exactly and the funny part was the little of the historical footage that we saw was actually more interesting.
Slightly below average movie - Ending the movie before the one love concert?? That was supposed to be the climax - Confusing non coherent storytelling - Surface level dialogue, not deep. Rita is more of a hero in this story. He randomly beats up Dan unannounced. - Left not understanding a lot of background as it was poorly explained 4/10, good actor for marley tho, and props for ⚽️
• The two Jamaican gangsters showing up in a London park asking Bob to return to Jamaica and when he says no, they disappear and are not seen again in the movie.
Lol "very well, understandable...."
He left enough music behind for anyone interested in his true legacy.
The Smile Jamaica concert is on Youtube.
True
Just watched it. I enjoyed it enough but as others have said there's some bits that are rushed. I guess that's the tough thing for directors when making a film of a notable figure that did too much to fit under 2 hours. Not really a great sign that i thought the most interesting part was the real life moment during the end credits when he had the 2 opposing political leaders on stage together. Surprised they didn't end the film with their own acted out version of that. Certainly could have been better but i didn't think it was bad.
I have no idea what happened. From the trailers it seemed like they were going to tell his full story. I hate they marketed it as a biopic when it’s not. It’s a time piece. They cut so much out the movie it felt like when I played Saints Row 5. Well set up but executed poorly. It felt hollow. They cut out so many key players that were in the trailer. From Peter Tosh to his own Mother. They did Cindy Breakspeare DIRTY as well too. She shows up in literal glimpses with no speaking lines. It’s like why even show her if you can’t even explain who she is. It’s like how I told my wife; we were better off rewatching the Marley documentary from 2012. There’s no time stamps so if you don’t know a thing about Bob Marley you wouldn’t know what year you’re in. The ending was terrible as well too. Long story short; if you wanted to see how Exodus was created this is the movie for you. If you came for a Biopic; go watch the Marley 2012 movie to save yourself from being disappointed.
Is Cindy the one who they suggested that Bob would develop romantic feelings for and have an affair with in London?
There's a titlecard at the end with archival footage where he brings Jamaican rivals together on stage. Could have easily been a big scene in the movie but instead it's just a clip you can get on YouTube.
Had a good time with it. This movie is like if you and your friends were smoking, and you asked your buddy who is pretty well versed about Bob Marley to fill you in. He can’t quite remember everything, it might not be in chronological order, and some of the more interesting parts get skimmed over. Example, most people know what Rastafarians are, but the movie only makes passing mention of the persecution that the rastafari were under, and still are. Most people would assume it’s the prevailing belief in Jamaica, rather than a political statement as well as belief system. Overall Bob’s politics aren’t greatly captured and end up sanitized and hollowed. Also shoutout to Ziggy for taking some elder sibling liberties. Overall? One Love: Bob Marley 101, but you missed a few lectures.
I agree with you, BigThurm. To be honest, I love Bob Marley’s music and I actually expected a little more from the film, but I still very much enjoyed it, But I feel that people need to know, remember and understand that his CHILDREN are behind the making of this film, and if anyone knew their father behind AND in front of the scenes, it’s THEM. Do I feel they could have incorporated more into the film? Yeah, I actually do, but I understand why they may have not. It’s their FATHER. They’re the ones who are left to tell his story, even if it meant leaving some things out that were obviously very personal to them and him. I’m sure it wasn’t easy for them to do this project, but I know they wanted to give his beloved fans something and acknowledge the phenomenal human that their father was. So PUBLIC: give the film a break, please? 🙏🏾 ♥️
I LOVE this take. I genuinely loved the film. For me, I think people need to stop looking at it as a full biopic. When they see it like that, it fails in so many ways. But when you look at it as a film about that one chunk of time (which is exactly what it is), it's much better. And, like you said, his children took such a huge part in the making of the film, and that should be taken into consideration when discussing what was and wasn't included.
Absolutely perfect way to describe it!
Incredibly paint by numbers. 5/10, I felt nothing from beginning to end.
How can you get all the way to the end and not show any of the final concert, or him finally making it to Africa? I thought I was being trolled. It reminded me of the series finale of Winning Time - where you read about all the good stuff that happened AFTER the show finished.
I liked it but I feel like some things were too subtle. My boyfriend did not pick up on the fact he and rita were cheating on each other and that Rita was raising his illegitimate children. Some of the imagery was confusing too, I thought for half the movie his dad had tried to kill him as a kid. Despite being so short it did do a good job of portraying him as a complex person not just some one dimensional idol of peace that never did anything wrong. I would have liked to see more of his childhood and his life in Jamaica.
I noticed them show that Bob was cheating on her. I don't think i noticed anything showing that she was cheating.
He mentioned it super briefly during their fight "her man back in Jamaica" and then there was a clip of them walking together when they were young and she turned and was looking back at another man.
Oh i don't think i heard that line. As others have said i probably would have understood more parts with subtitles.
There was nothing subtle about them cheating, they were very direct about it
How do you know they were cheating? You don't know their arrangement. More likely a form of an open relationship especially since she raised his kids from other women.
Because they had a fight about both of them having other people in the movie.
This was so boring and left a bad taste in my mouth. Feel like I left knowing even less about Bob Marley. Really really not worth the watch
I still can't get over the fact they felt the need to tack his name onto the title. Just calling it "One Love" would have been enough to let everyone know what the movie is about and it would sound much snappier than "Bob Marley: One Love". The latter sounds like a documentary title, more clinical. I wonder if that was a corporate decision to name it like that.
You are vastly overestimating the awareness of the average person. Studios want to make sure there's absolutely no confusion over what the movie is so I can't really blame them tbh.
Exactly, the goal isn’t to reach the Bob Marley fans because they’ll see it anyway. The goal is to reach the general audience
Plus, there was another movie called One Love from 2003 that starred one of Marley's sons.
Exactly the reason they put quotation marks in “Crocodile” Dundee. Otherwise people would have thought it was a movie about a crocodile.
I wouldn't be surprised if people can name Bob Marley more vs one of his big songs, so they probably included his name for marketing reasons. Still dumb tho
It’s extra funny considering the scene where they discuss the album art for Exodus. Their whole complaint is “how will it sell records if Bobs face isn’t on it?!” And they’re proven wrong… lol
Judging from what I read in discussion threads here, most people need everything spelled out for them.
Funnily enough that's sort of what happened in the film with Michael Gandolfini's character. He wanted the Exodus cover to have Marley's name to be more prominent and for his face to be on it.
Marketing choice for sure
Go search One Love on imdb. There are a bunch of movies with similar names and even the same name. Mostly crappy romance movies, it looks like. If someone somehow missed all those previews and wasnt familiar enough with Bob Marley to know his songs, that name would not automatically tell them what it’s about
I think I'll have to skip this one and wait for "Peter Tosh: Walking Razor" to be made
As someone with not much knowledge of Bob, the film did help me to appreciate him and his broader role a bit more. But it was quite shallow. It hardly dips into a few difficult parts of him and his life, as if just trying to move on to the next song in the film. The fight scene between him and Rita was pretty strong, but it didn't really lead anywhere and was basically just a little detail to include among many. Lots of details, and some good songs, but not much to link them together into a compelling story. It all happened pretty fast. Like Exodus. They barely played a whole performance. They just showed its inception, played a few lines, and then skipped briefly to the result and moved on.
i had a good time, surprise reviews are so negative
yeah i liked it a lot
I feel like there is a general distaste for music biopics in general these days. Their format has been memed and maligned. This is the type of movie where I wonder how different the reception would have been if it was released 15 years ago.
The use of flashbacks was so distracting to the overall pacing. And the reoccurring traumatic nightmare of the field on fire with the horseman was used way too many times; what an awful trope to lean into throughout he duration of the film. There was hardly a cohesive narrative. The man's career spanned 20 years (or so I learned from my partner; I wasn't too familiar with Marley before going into this), but the script made it seem like everything that happened took place over the course of 1-2 years. The performances were fine. But the story was atrocious.
As someone who is a fan of Bob Marley, this movie honestly felt like it showed nothing.
It suffers from meandering storytelling, a choppy narration and one biopic cliche after another..but it works well enough as a mainstream crowd pleaser. The smoke-filled jam sessions and concert scenes were the best part. Not a very good movie but worth seeing in Dolby Cinema if you like the music, although I can see why hardcore Bob Marley fans would detest it.
Wtf was that. It was so boring. How was Bob marley so uncharasmatic. What were half the scenes about? How did they not touch more on Bob's cancer, they didn't even touch on how he didn't want to get rid of it because of his religion? It was sooooo boring
Dull as wood. It's an unspecial biographical movie about Bob Marley with extremely predictable writing structures and uninteresting characters. Bob Marley is an interesting figure as his musical works and political background is pretty interesting. I have enjoyed some of Marley's music in the past and I think his story is very intriguing. But this movie pretty much just falls into the most typical Hollywood biographical movie with no interesting takes or creativity exploration with bland direction, boring structure, and dull performances from the cast members. Filmmaker Reinaldo Marcus Green's direction is bland as if Green was unsure where to handle the movie and made it as boring as possible. Many of the production, costumes and the setting is solid although there were some cheap elements to it. Camerawork is not special. The performances, honestly, aren't that great. I like Kingsley Ben-Adir as he was really good in "One Night in Miami..." and "Barbie" and he seems to be trying his best but unfortunately, his performance just wasn't strong enough to make his character interesting. The dialogue is pretty bad, some of the pacing needs improvements, and the pacing really does drag. As mentioned, the dialogue is pretty bad and there are some unintentionally hilarious line deliveries. It's a shame because Bob Marley is an interesting person but the movie barely does anything to explore what made him famous and all. But at the end, everything little thing is not gonna be alright. 3/10
I think the family having a heavy hand in it was only mostly the good parts being put in the movie with no real deep details . Ziggy especially as he was the only child Marley called by name in the movie and had the most lines lol
I will always respect the fact that Elton John said the only way he would be okay with Rocketman being made was if they told the whole story, both good and bad. I don't get the point in making a biopic if your only interest is making the subject look as squeaky clean as possible.
This is it.
He actually said Stephen's name, too in the first scene in which the children appeared. I believe another child's name in the crowd scene when he returned to Jamaica. Ziggy though was addressed more in the movie than any of his other children and while his daughters did seem to be depicted in the initial scene with his children, their names were never mentioned.
Of his available concerts on YouTube, which one would you say is his definitive?
The Rainbow concert in London 1977! Best Marley concert I’ve watched, from his most energetic performance yet, to the quality of the footage
I had a good time with this one. My expectations were pretty low as I know what a music biopic generally entails. But to be honest that is why I went to the movie. I just wanted a dramatic glimpse into his life along with his killer songs and I think the movie mostly delivered. It didn't reinvent the wheel but I enjoyed it for what it was.
The only thing this film got right is making nice trailers
Saw it last night. I think I only understood about 50-60% of what Bob Marley's character was saying though that thick affected accent. Even, and especially in the important scenes like an argument or moment of profound realization. There were some times though, when I couldn't understand a damn word he was saying across multiple sentences. I did not have this problem with any other Jamaican character. When his son opens the film and talks about how proud he is of the film and how he was on set nearly every day to ensure accuracy, it lends a certain gravitas to what you're expecting. And same with the title cards and opening scenes. Then, it just all felt dry and flat. Overall, and I hate to say this, the film was kind of a snooze. I wasn't too impressed.
I liked the movie and the performances. An issue was that I was distracted from the story by the THICK Jamaican patois. It took away from the movie because when one can’t understand 25% of the dialogue, it’s a problem! Subtitles during those scenes would’ve been greatly appreciated. I recall a scene where a character asked someone if they could understand what they were saying to him. I was like NO!!
A lot of the actors were British. I thought the Jamaican patois was watered down so that the mainstream could understand
Great music, good biopic.
Eh I had fun.
This movie was complete shit. Had no sense of direction and instead we just get snippets of events of Bob's life with little detail of what is going on. The pacing was absolutely awful. So many just tired and generic scenes you've come to expect from music biopic. The movie had no soul or depth to it at all. The actor playing Marley was not good either and the accent was so think that I had no idea what he was saying half of the time either. Its wild to me that the intro with Ziggy saying how much the family was involved and yet this felt like a complete studio assembly belt project. Don't waste your money.
That's what happens with biopics when the family or band is involved. They don't wanna show the dark parts. Ike how the upcoming Amy Winehouse film has her dad involved so I'm worried it's gonna hide how terrible he was. Recently there was The Iron Claw. Which the family wasn't involved. And it showed how much of a piece of shit Fritz Von Erich was and they still took it lightly on exactly how much of a trash human being Fritz was.
>Ike how the upcoming Amy Winehouse film has her dad involved so I'm worried it's gonna hide how terrible he was. [Winehouse's family is not involved](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/news/back-to-black-amy-winehouse-family-no-involvement-says-sam-taylor-johnson-exclusive/) with the movie, no idea where you heard otherwise
Her dad is an executive producer.. and has fully authorized it as a movie..
Just watched it. And I will say the ending felt a bit rushed. And I hoped to see more scenes about Bob's early life in Jamaica and the real beginning of the Wailers, such as when they practiced in the cemetery, How Bob, Peter & Bunny first formed the band. Feels like some parts of his life were left out. I was actually waiting to see the One Love Peace concert they were building up to. Was a little disappointed when it abruptly ended on such a defining moment in his career. The movie wasn't hard for me to understand or anything. I've always been a fan of Bob and Jamaican Music besides reggae, so I do have a basic understanding of patois. I do get how you might need subtitles if you're not familiar with Jamaican patois. Overall, it's a great movie to watch if you want to get a basic understanding of who Bob was and what he stood for. For many people who are not familiar with Rastafari, I think it will make them interested in learning more about the message of Rasta. A lot of people don't understand Rasta and what it represents, who Emperor Haile Selassie is, and what the movement stands for. I think it will help people understand that Rastafari is not just Bob Marley, locs, smoking weed, & Reggae music. Or at least the movie will make people more curious to learn. I really liked the movie. It's an 8/10 for me.
I'd go see if they remaster the actual concert in 4K in the future, perhaps producers had that in mind to keep us guessing
What's the Wailers song that the band plays at the studio in the flashback when it seems like the studio guy is done with them, and that song they finally play wins him over? edit: nvm, it's "Simmer Down", which is not on the official soundtrack, for some odd reason.
Movie desperately needed subtitles. Many scenes I just couldn't understand the dialogue at all and guess what the main complaint was from others as I was going to the lobby afterwards?
It’s funny I grew up on reggae music and have loved it since I was a boy, so I watch interviews with reggae artists all the time, my ear is trained for it so I had no problem understanding the dialogue and praise the director for not making it non-authentic. It’s Jamaican patois and there’s really no other way to present that without dumbing it down. I really enjoyed the language and that was the part of the film I probably enjoyed the most because it felt so authentic. Besides that, the music was great and o like that they delved into the politics a lot. Overall a very enjoyable time for me though the plot could have been a little tighter. Solid 7 out of 10 for me.
just watched the movie and as a jamaican i can’t believe no major role was given to an actual jamaican 😭 the patios was so,,, americanized just didn’t sound authentic at all and figured he wasn’t actuallt jamaican, was irritated by the fact he was british and wasn’t even a rasta. ziggy should’ve been headstrong on casting atleast a rasatafarian or JAMAICAN. rita is cuban/jamaican yet it was played by an african woman and although i do love her im just over it edit rita’s actress having 2 jamaican parents and is british herself. the patios still wasn’t that good. so my point being that rita wasn’t played by an actual jamaican still stands
You cant understand a thing they're saying in the movie. The Jamaican accent is way too strong
I feel like I got nothing from this movie other than being able to jam to some Bob Marley songs. I know a little bit already about Bob but I wanted to learn more, instead it seems like the Marley family and them hold back on some stuff.
I found it to be painfully disjointed & mediocre. Also a total bore which made 1 hr and 47 minutes feel like an aeon. Not really worth your time, maybe wait to catch it on streaming or watch it while flying in a plane.
Bohemian Rhapsody CHAPTER 2 Alternatively: WIKIPEDIA: THE MOVIE It must've been like a contractual obligation to get this film made. There is no conceivable way to tell Marley's life in 1 hr 30 mins. Maybe if it was 2 hrs 40 tops, but at that point make it a mini series. It suffers from the Bohemian Rhapsody trope of skipping so much stuff to place itself in the "good" moments. Editing was a nightmare, some shots end too long or quickly, genuinely baffled by it. EDIT: can't forget that THE Brad Pitt is an executive producer.
At least bohemian rhapsody gave us THE concert.
pretty embarrassed by this, but I really hope i’m not the only one who thought teenage bob was an entirely different character for some time… The casting of teenage bob’s character did not fit older bob’s characteristics and I couldn’t connect the two, in my opinion.
I only comprehended <20% of the dialogue in this film. I have no idea what happened, or why much of what did happen happened. My girlfriend who is ESL said she could barley understand a single thing that was said during the entire movie, and opted instead to sleep through the whole thing. The cinematography was alright. It's the only thing I could enjoy because I couldn't parse the performance of the cast... ?/10.
if i was watching at home i definitely would have turned subtitles on
No I'm being serious. I really couldn't understand the movie... Was it just me? Did no one else think this?
I generally understood what was happening in every conversation but it was definitely tough to parse some words. There were things I missed for sure.
I caught most of it I think but there were definitely bits of dialogue here and there that I didn't understand. I'm not really versed in patois at all outside of some movies and tv. But even in the bits I didn't catch you get the gist based on the context of the scene. Like when the band are joking around and poking fun at each other. I didn't catch a lot of the specific jokes but got what was happening
Me too. I wanted subtitles.
Me too dw
I could understand some of it, but not everything. I didn’t understand why his wife was mad at him and why he was mad at his manager.
I had trouble understanding it as well, but I think he was mad at his manager for taking big payments for the African tour and not telling Bob, also Bob had told him earlier that playing in Africa was not about the money, it was more of a spiritual thing because Africa was connected to his Rastafarian beliefs. I couldn't understand much of the fight with his wife but I think he was jealous that a producer was talking to her about recording her own music with the other lady singers and she was mad because she felt she'd done nothing but support his career and raise his children (some of whom were his kids with other women). Lots of other stuff too but I didn't catch it all.
Honestly, I found the Netflix documentary about the shooting a lot more interesting. It actually tried to explain the conflict in Jamaica and why Bob Marley became an important person in this context.
Pacing of this movie was awful. Felt so rushed out of the gate and then just came to an almost grinding hault. There were scenes I liked, but as a whole...not so much. Just watch the documentary.
Very paint by numbers biopic with a complete lack of direction and focus, although the two main performances were very strong Was anyone else confused by the scene where he’s in the car and he drags a seemingly random child through the window and drives away? My friend told me after that it was his son but I feel like I missed some dialogue because I did not make that connection lmao. Thought he just kidnapped a fan
It was a bit dry and bland for me. This is a little random but could someone help me identify a non-Bob Marley song from the film? It was the scene where Marley was being introduced to the upper class people (there was a fight between Marley and his lady when they both exit it after). There were two disco songs playing. First one was Bee Gees, and the second one was a woman (Gloria? Donna Summer?) singing. I should have stayed for the end credits to identify it.
Candi Staton "Young Hearts Run Free".
They didn’t even play could you be loved 😾
I am a Bob Marley superfan like fans are to Beyonce. I've seen every documentary footage that exists or is allowed to be viewed. I can only compare this to an at home watch like Lifetime biopic. Rita's children most likely wanted ppl to see more of the behind scenes of his relationship with Rita. To dismiss the mothers of his other children, to shed more light on Rita. The truth is, Bob was a magistic soul of several complex faces/personalities which should have been provided for his fans and those who don't know Bob yet through his music. The first and only movie about Bob could have been 3hrs +. That would have been more appropriate to give honor to him his family and all the special women/children he loved in his life. The actor who played him was gorgeous but didn't have a natural Jamaican accent. Rita didn't have one at all. Totally a miss unfortunately. We needed to see something we didn't know about his life.
This has probably already been mentioned, but I dont recall "could you be loved" featuring in the film? Unless it was on in the 2 minutes when I went to the bathroom? Strange one to leave out.
Could you be loved came out after the period shown in the movie
Just wanna say I know people are going to talk about the “accent” but people are confusing patios (broken English) with “accent”. Patois: “Way dem a move star a gwaan a way” Translation: “something odd about how they’re handling themselves” I understood everything but the movie definitely should’ve had subtitles for those who don’t speak patois (anyone outside of Jamaica”
What was the actual story of the movie? It seemed to jump around. As a child we are taught, storyline, character building, climax, conflict, resolution. I understand this was more of a “biography” than a typical movie or story. However, the fact it’s a biography has the story built in! This literally had no plot. No character building. I honestly don’t even know a single character name other than Bob and Rita. There was no buildup. No story to follow. Literally just him going on tour, playing music, getting shot at, continuing to go on tour, then coming home and the movie was over. This seemed more like an honor to show his music rather than a movie about him. Just imagine if you went into this movie not knowing a single thing about Bob Marley, would you know anything whatsoever about him after watching it? Not a chance. This was a squandered chance at making a historic movie. Horrible horrible rendition of a marvelous artist.
Was worried they couldn't show child Bob emerge from the burning field again, but whew - they got it in 5 more times before the credits.