Bob Marley: One Love (2024)

Bob Marley: One Love has a revolutionary at its center and a by-the-numbers biopic wrapped around him. It’s the standard musician movie, built for a man who was anything but standard. It opens in 1976, with Jamaica torn by political conflict and Marley signing on to play the Smile Jamaica Concert, hoping music can calm things down. Then comes an attack on Marley, Rita and several bandmates, and he still takes the stage, then heads to London, where an old movie soundtrack helps spark the Exodus album. Kingsley Ben-Adir is the reason to watch. He has the charisma, and he lets you see the loneliness behind it. The movie around him takes a while to get moving and keeps choosing tidy over daring. The music, of course, is glorious. Audiences handed it an A CinemaScore while critics stopped at 43% on Rotten Tomatoes. A 5.5 because the songs and the lead deserve a bolder film. $38.91 says you queue up Exodus on the drive home and play it front to back.

What works: Kingsley Ben-Adir captures Marley’s charisma and his isolation, and the music lifts every scene it’s in.

What doesn’t: It follows the standard biopic checklist so closely that the man at the center never feels as bold as his songs.

Who it’s for: Marley fans who want to hear the catalog loud and see the Exodus era up close.