Bob Marley: One Love movie review

MOVIE TITLE: Bob Marley: One Love

This inspirational biographical movie is now playing in theaters.

RATING: PG-13

LENGTH: 1 hour 47 minutes

MOVIE REVIEW MOM GRADE: B

IN A NUTSHELL:

The story is about how Reggae icon Bob Marley overcame adversity, and the journey behind his revolutionary music that made the whole world stop and take notice.

The film was directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green. Writing credits go to Terence Winter, Frank E. Flowers, and Zach Baylin.

THINGS I LIKED:

Kingsley Ben-Adir does an excellent job bringing legendary Bob Marley to life! Believe it or not, he had to learn how to play the guitar and sing for this role. Bob Marley’s son, Ziggy, was involved in the casting and enthusiastically approved Kingsley Ben-Adire to portray his late father.
The rest of the cast also does a great job and includes Lashana Lynch, James Norton, Tosin Cole, Anthony Welsh, Gawaine ‘J-Summa’ Campbell, and so many more.
Michael Gandolfini’s presence in the film is surprising but welcome.
Right after the rolling credits at the beginning of the movie, we read messages on the screen that give us information about the political upheaval going on in Jamaica at the time.
We get to hear some great Reggae music and be reminded of the inspirational lyrics.
We get to spend time in Jamaica during the movie. I’ve been there twice: once on a romantic getaway with my husband, and later with our four sons when we won a free trip at an all-inclusive resort there! People really do win contests!
It’s really fun to learn how the Exodus album was created since I used to own that record album on vinyl! Time Magazine named “Exodus” the “best album of the 20^th” I love so many of his songs. I think my favorite Bob Marley song is “Coming In From the Cold” in his 1991 album “Uprising.” I had that album too.
I’ve seen several versions of movie posters for the film, and I like them all.
At the end of the movie, we get to see several video clips of the real Bob Marley from his concerts, press conferences, home movies, and other moments from his life. We also get to read text on the screen that tells us what happened after the events we see in the movie.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

Sometimes, it’s hard to understand what everyone is saying because their Jamaican accents are so thick. I wished I had subtitles to read so I wouldn’t miss anything.
The saddest thing about this movie is knowing that in only a few, short years after the events in the film, Bob Marley died. He was first diagnosed with skin cancer on his toe in 1977 and finally died in 1981 at the young age of only 36. We see him talk about his toe at about the one-hour mark. Imagine what amazing songs we could have had if he had lived longer.
A lot of research went into the film; however, a small detail was missed. The scene set in 1977 shows Bob Marley walking around the Jubilee line interchange of Charing Cross Underground station in London, which wasn’t actually opened until 1979.
The movie only shows one wife, Rita, but it’s known he cheated on her with numerous women. He and Rita had 3 children, but he fathered 9 more from other relationships.
Because Bob Marley’s family was involved in the production, some of the negative facts about Bob Marley’s life were conveniently left out, making the film feel a little too safe.
It would have been fascinating to see the current events overlayed with the lyrics so we could see his inspiration for the songs he wrote.
Ultimately, true Bob Marley fans will be glad this movie was made, but also wish it could have been so much better.
We have a Cirque du Soleil show with Beatles music, another one about Michael Jackson…how about one with Bob Marley music? That would be really cool, right?

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Kids will be bored.
Smoking of cigarettes and joints
Alcohol
Violence with blood
Various weapons are used during violent acts

THEMES:

Overcoming adversity
The power of music
Love and unity
Peace

FUNNY LINES:

The movie is pretty serious.

INTERESTING LINES:

“His guitar is his machine gun.” – Chris Blackwell (James Norton)
“I have to be a wife and a soldier.” – Rita Marley (Lashana Lynch)
“When you write that?” – “All my life.” – Bob Marley (Kingsley Ben-Adir)
“You can’t separate the music and the message.” – Bob Marley (Kingsley Ben-Adir)
“You see, Reggae music coming to unify the people.” – Bob Marley (Kingsley Ben-Adir)
“There’s a war going on. How I can bring peace? I can’t even get peace for myself.” – Bob Marley (Kingsley Ben-Adir)
“Sometimes, the messenger has to become the message.” – Bob Marley (Kingsley Ben-Adir)
“Do you really think this world can make it?” – interviewer “Make it? We must make it.” – Bob Marley (Kingsley Ben-Adir)