Bohemian Rhapsody did pretty well, and earned Rami Malek an Oscar for ‘Best Actor’, so why not take Elton John’s life story for a spin?

Comparisons between the two films are inevitable, but there’s certainly a great deal of pressure on Taron Egerton, who is forced to play an iconic musician that is still alive to critique his performance.

In their look inside how Rocketman was made, Rolling Stone went straight to a Taron versus Rami comparison:

[The movie] presents Elton’s life as an elaborate musical with fantastic elements, like the carnival crowd that does a choreographed dance to “Saturday Night’s Alright for ­Fighting.”

And unlike in Bohemian Rhapsody, where Rami Malek lip-synced to recordings by Freddie Mercury or an impersonator, Rocketman star Taron Egerton does all of his own singing.

“Musicals are all about expressing yourself through song,” the British actor says. “If you don’t sing them yourself, then you aren’t really expressing anything.”

Round one to Taron, then.

Roll tape:

As you might have guessed, expect the flamboyant:

Egerton knows some fans might be taken aback by scenes like the one where Elton literally floats above his piano as he sings “Crocodile Rock,” but he hopes they’ll understand. “The film asks you to take an imaginative leap, as you would if you went to the theater,” he says. “It’s not a Wikipedia entry.”

The movie actually premiered at Cannes earlier this week, and those in attendance were treated to a rather personal touch. Below from Deadline:

The duet was rumored for months, but there had been some some buzz it wouldn’t happen due to John’s touring schedule and possible security issues…

John told attendees at the after-party “This has been a very emotional night for me  — Even if the movie doesn’t make one penny at the box office, which will kill Jim Gianopulos, it is the movie I wanted to make.”

We will finish with a short video of the two in action:

[sources:rollingstone&deadline]