ELVIS

Austin Butler turns in a terrific and I daresay Oscar-nominated worthy performance as The King himself, while veteran Tom Hanks fully supports him as the stars controversial manager Colonel Tom Parker. The film is told from Parker's POV, listing the many labels that have been placed upon him over the decades and I believe writer and director Baz Luhrmann did that intentionally to leave it up to the audience to decide his place in history. Even with a runtime of 159 minutes, it's a difficult task to compress the life and legacy of Elvis Presley within that time frame. Unfortunately, like many biopics made about musicians, they hit all of the major points audiences are familiar with while showing only a peak behind the scenes. Elvis' drug use and womanizing are here but only in bits. The film plays as a tragedy as the first rock 'n roll star the world has ever seen is overworked and sucked dry by Parker and family members. A good but not great film and honestly upon leaving the theater, I was a little disappointed. Had a lot of promise and the trailer piqued my interest but ultimately, the final product didn't deliver. 6/10