Regarded as one of the greatest frontmen in the history of Rock and Roll, Freddie Mercury was born to entertain. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that a biopic celebrating his life should seek to do the same. Granted, the film is full of the genre’s clichés, but it also contains rousing music, faithful recreations of concerts and a captivating lead performance. So who cares if this is his real life or if it's just fantasy?

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Opening with the oft-used device of an entertainer’s life being seen in flashback on the eve of a seminal show, Bohemian Rhapsody charts the singer’s transformation from Farrokh Bulsara, a shy baggage-handler at Heathrow Airport, to Freddie Mercury, unrestrained Rock God on and off the stage. Along the way he encounters disapproving parents, sceptical record producers, a nefarious gold-digger and a fatal disease. Yet our hero manages to transcend most of these obstacles in time for a triumphant comeback.

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Just as triumphant is the performance of Rami Malek. Bringing a tenderness to the scenes depicting Mercury’s love for Mary Austin, his fellow band members and Jim Hutton, Malek is suitably outrageous elsewhere, none more so than when on stage. At times it appeared actual footage of Mercury’s gyrations had been spliced into the film, so complete is the illusion.

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Though the filmmakers can hardly claim they didn’t mean to make us cry with the film’s amended timeline, like Mister Fahrenheit in the film’s closing song, this biopic will leave you having a good time.