I’m not a big Robbie Williams fan. I liked some of his earlier stuff and adored his Swing When You’re Winning album, that one where he did all that big band songs. Robbie’s versions of Mack the Knife and Mr. Bojangles are amazing. Anyway, while I’m not a huge Robbie fan, I do like a good biopic. The music biopic seems to be quite popular at the moment and following the success of Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocketman. There was that Elvis flick and more recently we have had A Complete Unknown, the biopic of Bob Dylan. Yep, the music biopic is on trend right now (there are several more in development). So, Robbie Williams felt the he deserved a slice of that lucrative pie and the end result is Better Man.

To stand out from the crowd, a music biopic needs to do something different. For instance, I adored Rocketman because it was sold as a musical fantasy – that’s exactly what you got to. Yeah, there was a great flick about the life of Elton John, but it added a lot of fantastical elements to help further the plot. Better Man decided to depict Robbie Williams as an anthropomorphic monkey. I forgot all about that after about five minutes of watching and monkey Robbie felt very normal. But as I watched Better Man, I also noticed something else. This article was going to be a straight review of the film, but I decided to go in a different direction.

It looks like Better Man is going to be quite the flop. It has only brought in $2 million in the US and Canada. To be fair, Robbie is not exactly a big name on the other side of the pond, so the film flopping there is no surprise. However, he does have quite the following in Europe and Australia, but even in these territories, the film has not exactly set the box office alight. The worldwide takings for the film are just over $16 million and it is said to have a budget of around $110 million. That’s a gargantuan flop, if I am being honest. But I’m not here to dissect the film tanking at the box office, I want to get to the observation that the title alludes to.

Right so, and cutting to the chase, Better Man is a blatant rip-off of Rocketman, unashamedly so too. Yeah you have two films detailing the rise of two UK musicians and all, but I don’t mean it’s a rip-off on that regard. I mean in its tone, the editing, filmmaking style, scenes, etc. Better Man has definitely “borrowed” from Rocketman… a lot. One such instance is the use of music to further the plot. Of course biopics of musical artists are going to feature a lot of music. However, that music is usually done correctly in the time line of events shown in the films. With Rocketman, that idea was thrown out and Elton John’s music was often used anachronistically just to help with a scene of the film.

I’m going to assume that you’ll want me to back up my claims that Better Man is a Rocketman rip-off? There’s a scene early in Rocketman that features a young Elton John singing the song, I Want Love. This is very anachronistic as the song would not be written until several decades after the scene. But the song is used to describe how Elton wants to be loved in his family because his father is distant and eventually walks out. In Better Man, there’s a scene early on where young Robbie Williams sings the song, Feel. This is very anachronistic as the song would not be written until several decades after the scene. But But the song is used to describe how Robbie wants to be loved in his family because his father is distant and eventually walks out. Oh and in Rocketman, when Elton’s father does walk out, he leaves his son to be raised by his mother and grandmother. In Better Man when Robbie’s father does walk out, he leaves his son to be raised by his mother and grandmother. The two scenes are eerily similar in style, tone and filming techniques.

One of my favourite scenes in Rocketman is the Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting bit. It’s this massive song and dance scene where people randomly get up and start dancing, very musical. It’s brilliantly shot as one long take (but uses clever digital editing to hide the cuts). There’s a scene in Better Man that shows the rise of Take That with a massive song and dance routine to Robbie’s song, Rock DJ. Very much like the Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting bit from Rocketman, it is a big musical scene and it is one long take (but uses clever digital editing to hide the cuts). Some of the camera work is identical, some of the edits are exactly the same. Oh, it’s a very different song, very different dancing and all that – but it’s the same scene.

Also, in this Rock DJ scene from Better Man, as I said – it shows the rise of Take That. It’s a condensed history that flashes by in front of your eyes and highlights some of the group’s iconic moments. In Rocketman, there’s the Honky Cat scene that is a condensed history that flashes by in front of your eyes that shows Elton’s rise and highlights some of his iconic moments. This Rock DJ scene does something else. Take That change costumes multiple times and showcases some of their most famous outfits throughout their career. Yep, this happens in Rocketman too with the Pinball Wizard scene.

I can’t point out all the blatant ripping-off that Better Man does, but it is a lot. Rocketman is bookended and interspersed by having Elton John sitting in a circle group in rehab talking about his addictions. Yeah, Better Man does this too. Okay, so Better Man doesn’t bookend the film in the same way, but there is a scene with Robbie Williams sitting in a circle group in rehab talking about his addictions and the way it is shot and edited is very, very similar. The ripping-off is not just about specific scenes either. Edits, tone, style, pacing, transitions between scenes, etc. Watch Rocketman, then watch Better Man directly after and you will see exactly what I mean – it’s the same film. Yeah, the subject matter of the films covering the rise and struggles of two British musical artists is a given, but the way that story is told is staggeringly similar between the two films. Big scenes and little scenes. Edits and cuts. Style and tone. Better Man is a Rocketman rip-off.

Okay, so is Better Man a good film? I thought it was okay, no where near as good as Rocketman, the film is was very clearly copying. And If I am being honest I really don’t think that Robbie Williams has earned his stripes to have a big budget movie biopic. He’s not a massive world-wide star, he hasn’t changed the face of music – he’s a pop star who has had a few decent hits. Robbie Williams is no Queen, he’s no Elvis, he’s no Elton John. However, I don’t think that Better Man deserves to flop, it’s a pretty enjoyable watch and all, I just kept thinking about Rocketman all the way through it. But did the world really want a Robbie Williams biopic? The box office says no.

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