Elvis (2022)

Why is the villain narrating this? Baz Luhrmann hands the story of Elvis to Colonel Tom Parker, played by Tom Hanks under heavy prosthetics and an accent nobody can place, and the man who squeezed every dollar out of Elvis gets to frame his whole life. It doesn’t work. The first hour is a slot machine of split screens, comic book panels and jump cuts, and you feel all 159 minutes. Then Austin Butler takes over. He doesn’t do an impression. He gets the shyness, the hunger and the moves, and when Elvis walks on stage for his comeback special, the movie finally slows down enough to just watch him. The Vegas years are handled with real care: a worn-out man, unwell and stuck in a contract, still giving everything to the room every night. It made $288.7 million worldwide on a reported $85M. A 7.4 because Butler is extraordinary and the framing never gets out of his way. $70.93 says you put on an old Elvis gospel record this week and stay for the whole thing.

What works: Austin Butler’s performance is total and sincere, and the late Vegas years are handled with real tenderness.

What doesn’t: Framing the story through Tom Hanks’s prosthetic-heavy Colonel Parker keeps pushing Elvis out of his own movie.

Who it’s for: Music fans and anyone who wants a big, loud, heartfelt biopic with a lead performance worth the ticket.