Highly Overrated But Still Good

disgusting, overrated, pointless

I saw this movie before reading any reviews, and I thought it was very funny. I was very surprised to see the overwhelmingly negative reviews this film received from critics.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Okay, I'll admit it. I never was much of an Elvis fan. The fact I was born just a year before he passed away, did not help things. See, I grew up with the phenomenon, the image of fat, bloated, hideously dressed man who sang and danced and apparently drove women crazy with lust. And with thanks to his many fans who'll sometimes do anything to maintain that image, I seriously started to doubt my own sanity when I could not find the one thing I'm always looking for when confronted with someone who's supposed to be a legend: a human being. So I had no idea why I felt I should be watching this particular bio-pic. But I'm glad I did. So what if Jonathan Rhys Meyers is not as tall as Elvis, so what if his lip-syncing is a little off every now and then? So what if his dancing is not as smooth or if his accent wavers sometimes? He brought vulnerability, sweetness, loyalty, generosity, insecurity and overall humanity to the man who was made into a King by his manager and fans. He showed me, finally, that Elvis was just an ordinary man with extraordinary musical talent, who put his faith in the wrong people. Like many had before him and like many will, even now. I was never much of an Elvis fan. Until I saw this. The King is dead, long live the King!

This is one of the best Elvis biopics I have ever seen. Its gives a lot of great insight to things that Elvis was going through in his life that others may have not known about or had little knowledge on. I like how the movie starts and ends at the same time, with the middle telling the story how he got there. This film is like a movie and I think should have been released at theaters it is so good. It is better than normal made for TV movies. I've seen this movie so many times I just watch it whenever I get the chance. Anybody that has even a small interest in knowing about Elvis should buy this today, even if you're a longtime fan you'll enjoy it too. Jonathan Rhys Meyers did a better job than a lot of people give him credit for and the other characters were almost spot on. Great MOVIE! 10 out of 10!

Elvis was a fascinating figure and remains so today. He basically invented Rock and Roll and was in my opinion the first true rock star. This movie does him a great credit. The actor who plays him looks and sounds very close to the way the real Elvis did. The use of actual songs sung by the real Elvis makes the movie all the better. This movie truly shows the pressures and troubles Elvis faced in his life. All in all it presents as a generous and good person, which he really was as sources say. Despite the drug dependency, Elvis was a great person who revolutionized music and set the stage for all performers to come. This movie is captivating and moving.

It was wonderful to hear Elvis' actual voice and music coming out of the mouth of Jonathan Rhys-Meyers. Frankly, I could have used even more of Presley's magnificent voice throughout.One of the previous posters mentioned that Marty Lacker commented on this film. I was in touch with Marty during my time on the Elvis message board and always enjoyed his comments. I regret that I couldn't find his comments on the film here. I don't imagine he liked it much. There was only one Elvis, and while you may be able to approximate him, you will never find anyone who will ultimately satisfy as Elvis. Kurt Russell probably came the closest, but I haven't seen everyone.All that being said, I enjoyed Part I of this miniseries more than Part II, and I did like Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, especially in Part I. I read some of the posts which mentioned he did not have Elvis' stature. Elvis Presley was one of the most gorgeous men who ever lived. He had it ALL. And that includes height. If you're asking to see an Elvis clone portraying Elvis, if it were possible, Elvis wouldn't have been the unique individual he was. The role of Elvis in this bio did not call for an Elvis impersonator, it called for an actor, and Rhys-Meyers is definitely that.The purpose of this film, and the purpose of the Elvis by the Presleys documentary, was to introduce Presley to a new audience. For this they chose a handsome, up-and-coming actor, in order to bring in the youth market. He's Irish. He played a man he didn't know personally and a man he didn't know very much about. He also had to play the script he was given. With those caveats, he was excellent, and, having seen Presley in some of the performances recreated in this film, he had obviously studied Elvis' movements.Though the miniseries captured many of the details we know of Elvis' story, in the end, it didn't capture Elvis himself - and may I say AGAIN, if that were an easy or even POSSIBLE thing to do, well, Elvis wouldn't be the legend he is today. The script I do not believe demonstrated Elvis' tremendous charm and charisma, nor his sense of humor. That was a problem in the script. It's very possible that given the opportunity Rhys-Meyers would have been up to the task.What the script did show is the conflict between Colonel Parker, well played by Randy Quaid, and Presley, giving us a hint of what was a very complicated relationship. Parker was about money; Elvis was about creativity. But it was more than that - Parker had absolutely no understanding of Elvis the artist, and in a sense, he dismissed that side of him. Parker did a great many good things for Elvis but in the end, he held him back tremendously. I knew that Elvis wanted to do the remake of A Star is Born, but I had not known (and I assume it's true) that Elvis wanted to do West Side Story. Since Tony is usually played by a very romantic type whom one cannot believe is affiliated with a gang, Presley would have been inspired casting. Not making better movies is one of the great tragedies of his career, along with never touring the world. I really have no use for Colonel Parker for a variety of reasons, which I won't go into here. And it wasn't all the Colonel - some of the problems had to do with Elvis' inability to let go.The film ends in a strange place - the '68 Comeback Special, and it is there the failing of Rhys-Meyers' physical appearance as Elvis really shows up. Elvis was beyond gorgeous on that special, and Rhys-Meyers just did not demonstrate those shocking good looks. And why end it there? Elvis became a smash hit in Vegas, and he had several successful years on tour before his lifestyle caught up with him.With the exception of Rhys-Meyers, Quaid, and Camryn Manheim as Gladys, there doesn't seem to have been much attention paid to the casting. Rose McGowan did not approximate the luscious Ann-Margret, and Antonia Bernath was not Priscilla.However, I think the miniseries did its job. We got to hear that glorious voice and see something of one of the most fascinating rags to riches story ever told. If the man was missing, I can't blame anyone but the man himself. He was one of a kind.