Before I go any further, I have to suggest that if you want to read real film reviews check out Dan Loves Film. Dan is the real deal. In fact, he is convincing me to see more than one movie that I would’ve never given a second thought. Seriously, he should be getting paid for his work!
I have to start by saying that I think the only movie genre that I think is more played out on than thr superhero movie right now is the musician biopic. I’m kind of old-school when it comes to these movies. I find La Bamba and The Doors and even Ray to be more memorable than Bohemian Rhapsody or I Wanna Dance With Somebody
Having said that, I do like that the more recent musical bio pics are choosing to focus on one major event in the musicians career; as opposed to trying to give us their birth life, death and entire musical catalog in roughly 2 hours. Just as Rocket Man builds to Elton John’s legendary Dodger Stadium performance, …One Love centers around Marley’s titular 1978 concert.
I must admit that I’m not personally a big fan of Bob Marley. That being said, I respect his contributions to the music industry. Reggae, rocksteady, and ska have never really been my thing. Watching the movie, however, I wish that I had a little bit of a better understanding of the whole Rastafarian culture and the political turmoil surrounding Jamaica on the late 70s.
Like many people, I’ve reached the point where I stream more movies than I watch in theaters. Watching One Love last night on Paramount+, I turned on the subtitles – as I always do with television. It was a little bit jarring to see, the dialogue of Marley and the other Jamaicans spelled phonetically; such as “dis” instead of “this”. Conversely, the dialogue of the white, European characters was spelled in grammatically perfect English. I bring this up because newspaper reporters who did this with Puerto Rican born baseball superstar Roberto Clemente in the late 60s weee derided as racists trying to make Clemente appear dumb.   Marley‘s son. Ziggy is credited as an executive producer on the film; essentially giving it the family seal of approval. So I found this subtitling to be a little bit jarring. 
FINAL TAKE. Bob Marley: One Love is worth watching; but I wouldn’t call it essential viewing. Bob Marley fans will find it entertaining, and it does serve as a decent introduction to the man and his music. With that in mind, it doesn’t feel like a definitive, all encompassing biopic.
Thanks for stopping by Rebuilding Rob. Be sure to like, comment and subscribe to my blog below. It’s greatly appreciated! Also, feel free to follow me on social media as well! Check out my most recent posts as well as some earlier, related posts:
- My Baseball Kryptonite
- The Boy Who Looked at His Feet
- Even White People Get Ashy
- The Tricorder in My Pocket
- Challenger 40: The Generational Echo
The article “Rob Reviews: Bob Marley: One Love”first appeared on Rebuilding Rob
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