Bob Marley: La Leyenda

It's fine, just nothing all that memorable.

I had a pleasant enough time viewing 'Bob Marley: One Love', though it does kinda seem a bit hollow post-watch - as in I don't feel like I've learned much nor actually seen that much, the movie has like three noteworthy events but then that's kinda it. The music from those involved also didn't feel amazingly utilised, I guess they didn't want it to be too jukebox-y.

Kingsley Ben-Adir does well in the lead role as Bob Marley himself. I'm not a Marley superfan or anything close, I basically only know his biggest hits, but the resemblance of Ben-Adir seemed off to me - a thought that was only solidified when the real Marley appears via archive footage at the end. Perhaps that's just me, though.

Lashana Lynch gives a good performance, spearheading the rest of the cast who are alright; interesting to see James Norton, Michael Gandolfini too... even if I didn't realise it was Gandolfini until the credits. Overall, it does feel like the film only scratches the surface of Marley's life. I wanted more from it, but to be fair it is still a decent flick in my opinion.

Paint by numbers musical biopic that hits all the cliches; crooked management, a "complex" love story, father-son drama and some genuinely decent concert sequences.

The many flashbacks and heavy Jamaican patois don't do the narrative any favors (subtitles needed for this one!) Cast performances are mostly solid but unspectacular. Lashana Lynch's Rita Marley is a highlight. Kingsley Ben-Adir's Bob is likeable but lightweight - at the end we don't get any sense of what really drove Bob as a musician or a strongly religious man. None of the supporting characters are sketched out much at all, so the film depends on these two performances to carry it, with mixed results.

Overall a superficial examining of an important influential artist that could've been so much more.

My wife and I attended a screening of Bob Marley: One Love (2024) last night. The narrative traces Bob Marley's journey to fame, navigating the violence in his home and channeling it as a creative force for success. We glimpse flashbacks of his family life, marked by maternal abandonment and the pivotal role of his wife in propelling him from adversity to stardom.

Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green (King Richard), the film features Kingsley Ben-Adir (Peaky Blinders), Lashana Lynch (No Time to Die), Aston Barrett Jr., James Norton (Little Women), and Tosin Cole (House Party).

The movie presents an uneven experience, with aspects that captivated me and others that fell short. The exploration of Marley's upbringing and its surrounding circumstances was excellent and enlightening, and the love story was compelling. The portrayal of Marley's global and domestic influence was also commendable. However, Kingsley Ben-Adir's attempt to embody Marley's unique, awkward, and unpredictable persona felt somewhat inauthentic. His meticulously perfect wig and attire contrasted with Marley's natural, islander vibe as seen in videos during the closing credits.

In conclusion, Bob Marley: One Love offers worthwhile elements, but it falls short of elite status, akin to films like Ray or Walk the Line. I'd give it a 6/10 and suggest watching it at least once.

We went to see this movie on a whim and although I am not someone who listens to reggae music, I would like to learn more about it and see what Bob Marley was in our world. The story was not the easiest to follow because it it jumped around in time, which isn't usually difficult to follow, but it was in this movie. There were aspects missing that would have brought this movie together much better.

I found I enjoyed the music very much and I did get a sense of why Bob Marley was an important figurehead in the attempt of taking away hate at teaching love to all.

I thought the actress who played Bob's wife was fantastic. I felt a lot of pain and strife that she must have experienced as the celebrity status of her husband soared. To me, she was the best part of the movie.

This was an interesting movie with fine performances, but it felt a bit rushed and scattered in it's writing.

Bob Marley is one of the most recognizable names in the world, whose music, cultural influence and message of unity transcends borders. And while Reinaldo Marcus Green's "Bob Marley: One Love" tries to portray his influence and legacy on screen, the movie's low-risk conventional approach makes it a rather hollow experience.

The movie is as vanilla as it gets, with nothing really standing out. And that extends to lead actor Kingsley Ben-Adir, who while I think is a great actor, just isn't able to make the character work. He seems to be trying his best to replicate the legend, but is quite not all there with his portrayal that we're always aware we're watching an actor play Bob Marley and not Bob Marley himself.

While "Bob Marley: One Love" is not as boring as some of the other musical biopics I've seen (like 'I Wanna Dance with Somebody' or 'The United States vs Billie Holiday'), it surely doesn't do enough to be worth recommending. It's yet another biopic that plays like a collection of vignettes than an actual narrative story, with some 'greatest hits' backing tracks. It certainly doesn't do Marley's legacy any justice.