Bob Marley: One Love Reviews (original) (raw)

Summary Bob Marley: One Love celebrates the life and music of an icon who inspired generations through his message of love and unity. On the big screen for the first time, discover Bob’s powerful story of overcoming adversity and the journey behind his revolutionary music.

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Bob Marley: One Love does not give a documentary’s worth of information and analysis into one of the 20th century’s most interesting, beloved performers. And yes, its approach is formulaic. But it celebrates Marley’s charisma and influence, and his music, which sounds as vital today as ever. Fair trade.

Bob Marley: One Love is a strange mixture of the authentic and the broad. Taking place in a perma-fug of ganja smoke, director Reinaldo Marcus Green’s (King Richard) intermittently engaging portrait of the reggae superstar is shot through with sincere intentions, but too often leans into the trite.

I do not understand low scores for this superb film on Bob Marley. It was a blast. It was emotional. And the ending credits had me stifling tears. I wasn’t only one in theater trying to keep it together either.

Critics, stop giving people more reason to disregard your opinions. The smear campaign going on here is ridiculous. This movie was far from perfect, but to discard it like trash is wrong. Critics said “It reveals little about Marley” maybe because he was one of the most famous & influential artists of the 20th century. This is a movie everyone should watch whether you listen to his music or not.

If the film is ambitious, it is also inert.

Though “One Love” drifts into increasingly conventional biopic scenes, its spirit remains fairly true to Marley — enough, at least, that you overlook some of its faults.

What becomes painfully clear is the fact that Bob Marley deserves a better biopic. Still, Lynch’s magnetic presence, and a heartstopping rendition of Redemption Song, almost justify the price of admission.

Marley, as played by Kingsley Ben-Adir, is presented as a centrifugal force in Jamaican art, culture and political thought, but the film also threatens to flatten him into just another tortured male genius.

It’s a biographical film where, to ask “why?” in regard to Marley’s sometimes obscurely-motivated actions would risk placing him in an ambiguous light. And so we instead trot through a series of highly manicured and stage-managed Wiki hit points and pause every few minutes for a musical interlude.

Powerful moving movie! It shows the life of the Prophet Bob Marley and the work he did for the Most High God. It includes Haile Selassie, the Lion of Judah and descendant of King David. A man all the western world tried to hide from history! It's a must see and also mentions how christ is black and not a european blue eyed white man as the european has tried to usurp.

This film about the famous reggae singer/songwriter stars Kingsley Ben-Adir. It's not a straightforward biopic, because it's mostly set after his fame has been established. The story starts in Jamaica during a tumultuous civil war that was rife with violence and it explores his efforts to bring peace to his homeland. A few flashbacks to his formative years add a more biographical slant. There's also plenty of his music, in the soundtrack, in concerts and in the studio. Ben-Adir captures Marley's joy and charisma, while Lashana Lynch provides strong support as his wife. The Jamaican patois is sometimes so thick it's hard to understand, but they've made sure the dialogue is clear in pivotal exchanges. While the film is rich with Marley's music and a joyful performance by Ben-Adir, the dramatic conflicts seldom add much depth to the characterization. It's more a celebration of the man and his music.

The film is a pleasure to watch, and the soundtrack is a delight (no one doubted it). However, I find that the film doesn't go deep enough and doesn't tell enough of Bob Marley's great life.

Maybe too narrow, overall, as the story is really lacking here. The performances are good but the film is below par even for this oversaturated genre.

It could be called an attempt at homage, but they aren't even trying, they just want to capitalize on Bob Marley by making the most boring and generic movie possible.

Production Company Paramount Pictures, Plan B Entertainment, Tuff Gong Pictures

Release Date Feb 14, 2024

Duration 1 h 47 m

Rating PG-13

Tagline Some voices are forever.

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