Both films were about great British pop stars that dominated the charts in the 1970s and 80s, Bohemian Rhapsody about Freddie Mercury, and Rocketman about Elton John.

Both men had come out of straight-laced working class backgrounds, changed their stage names and became kings of glam rock, wooing audiences worldwide.

Both men were heavily into booze and drugs.

Both men were also gay, and their sexuality would dominate their life choices.

They even had a manager in common who played significant roles in both films. John Reid (played by Aiden Gillen in BR and Richard Madden in RM) managed both singers and was Elton John's lover.

The similarities were so strong it made me wonder how Elton John managed to survive to this day long after Mercury succumbed to AIDS.

But while both films about them were equally gripping and featured the great music of both artists, the way they were presented on the screen was radically different.

Rhapsody was centred around Queen's Live Aid performance in 1985 (where Elton John also played) while Rocketman was centred around Elton's battle with his addictions.

And while Rhapsody played it straight when it came to the music merely presenting Queen on stage, Rocketman had fantastical and magical elements with characters breaking into song in the middle of otherwise realistic scenes.

It could have fallen flat on its face but it doesn't and works for the most part.

The main reason it works is the tour de force performance by Taron Egerton in the role of Reggie Dwight who becomes the rocket man Elton John.

His energy drives on the film and there is also a great performance from Jamie Bell as Elton's co-creator and lyricist Bernie Taupin.

The film covers his childhood, his sudden rise to fame and the rollercoaster ride of his early days of super stardom.

The music both in the fantasy sequences and on stage fills in the rare dull moment.

Rocketman is current on show in Mount Isa.

Four stars out of five.