Movie Review: Bob Marley: One Love

 

Michael's Movie Grade: B-

A well-made but overly conventional biopic. 

To start this review with the most obvious praise, the music is fantastic. There is a reason Bob Marley is considered one of the best artists in the history of Jamaican music. Not only was he an incredibly talented performer, but his songs are simply brilliant both lyrically and musically. His music is shown to its best advantage here. There are many great songs here that helps anyone understand why his music is so beloved. 

This movie also benefits from truly wonderful performances by Kingsley Ben-Adir as Bob Marley and Lashana Lynch as his wife. While they may not always physically resemble the real-life people they are playing, their performances make them always completely believable in the roles. The way these characters are treated here is also very well done. While this may not be a complex look at these important figures, we do grow to care about them. What makes this film work so well in this department is that it makes them not feel like larger than life or unapproachable figures but real human beings that we can easily relate to. This is also a visually handsome movie, with a lot of beautiful looking shots. 

This film does follow the conventions of movie biopics too closely. There are many scenes that can seem all too familiar and simply fail to stand out among the many musical biopics of recent years. There are even a few times, where it can feel like it is going through the motions in these scenes. The movie also suffers from the supporting characters simply being quite bland. 

While this may not be among the best musical biopics, there is a lot to enjoy and recommend here.