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Review | Bob Marley: One Love movie review – excellent on paper but poorly executed and too on-the-nose, and saved only by great performances
- Reinaldo Marcus Green’s film, despite plenty of good music, never really manages to dig down into what made reggae star Bob Marley such an unforgettable artist
- Kingsley Ben-Adir is great as Marley, as is Lashana Lynch as his wife Rita. Around them, however, the film – packed with tired music bio tropes – falls apart
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2.5/5 stars
A biopic of reggae superstar Bob Marley is an excellent idea on paper. But Bob Marley: One Love just does not cut it.
Beginning with Marley (Kingsley Ben-Adir) already as Jamaica’s biggest star, the film traces his rise to global superstardom, as albums like Exodus turn him into one of the most important voices of his generation, before his untimely death from cancer, aged 36, in 1981.
Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green (who made the excellent tennis drama King Richard, with Will Smith), the film never really manages to dig down into what made Marley such an unforgettable artist.
Rather, this is a too on-the-nose portrait, hampered by poor choices. An early example comes when Marley is injured in a shoot-out, shortly after playing “I Shot The Sheriff”. Likewise, when his wife, Rita (Lashana Lynch), is also badly hurt, and in hospital, we hear “No Woman No Cry”.
If you are a fan of Marley’s music, you will not be short-changed. All the big hits are here, although only a low-key version of “Jamming”, heard as they record it in the studio, really stands out.
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