'Bob Marley: One Love' - Perfectly watchable and toe-tapping

IN Hollywood, there is undoubtedly a collective determination among studios to keep hoovering out biopics of legendary musicians.

Blame the runway box office success of Bohemian Rhapsody for the upturn in these kinds of movies.

Recent examples have seen the life stories of Elvis Presley, Whitney Houston and Leonard Bernstein brought to the silver screen.

Paramount Pictures now brings us this film chronicling a key period in the life and career of Bob Marley, a star who surely needs to introduction.

The pioneer of roots reggae music who shared his ingenious populist musical style with the world and became arguably the most widely loved and admired singer of the 20th century, any movie charting his achievements faces a daunting task.

The film focuses primarily on the pivotal few years in the short life of Marley (Kingsley Ben-Adir) which saw him rise from a national hero in Jamaica to an international superstar.

In 1976, the general election campaign is causing greatly violent tumult on the streets of Kingston and other cities.

Rival gangs clash with police and each other over support for duelling political leaders Michael Manley and Edward Seaga. Marley despite his neutrality is perceived by some as a supporter of the former, leading to an assassination attempt at the singer’s home.

Marley is shot but survives while his wife Rita (Lashana Lynch) is also injured. Shaken by the incident, Marley decides he must leave Jamaica for his family’s safety and takes the Wailers to London to ensure clear heads.

While in London, Marley records his seminal album Exodus (inspired by the Otto Preminger film of the same name), including the hits “Jamming” and “Three Little Birds”.

Following rave reviews, Marley takes the Wailers on a hugely successful European tour. Despite this great success, the unrest in his homeland weighs heavily on his mind, taking a toll on his marriage and health.

Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green (King Richard) and produced by Marley’s widow Rita and their children Ziggy and Cedella, it’s no surprise that One Love is very much the authorised biographical film of Bob.

Estates are often very protective of the rights and reputations of the deceased stars they represent and this is certainly the case here. This is a predictably straightforward and standard musical biopic, following the formula of the genre.

Like Bohemian Rhapsody, the story is centred on a watershed event in the life of the subject and the various obstacles that they must overcome in order to achieve legendary status.

Marley’s premature death from cancer in 1981 played a part in cementing that status but it’s hard to overstate the sheer quality and impact of his work. The man truly was a musical genius whose songs appealed to a wide-ranging and eclectic global audience.

The decision to go for the family-sanctioned and generic cookie-cutter storytelling approach leads to a movie that is perfectly watchable and toe-tapping (many of the Wailer’s greatest hits dominate the soundtrack) but fails to do its iconic subject full justice.

I found myself far less interested in the filmmaking than I was the music: almost like watching an extended music video tailored to some exceptional tunes.

The performance of Ben-Adir is nonetheless worthy of praise.

Though it isn’t one of those performances where the actor disappears into the role (and you forget you are watching someone acting), his impersonation of Marley is almost as impassioned and vibrant as the music itself.

Bob Marley: One Love could not be loved as much as Marley himself but newcomers to the singer may find enjoyment in this unadventurous biopic.

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Matthew McCaula