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Bob Marley: One Love Reviews

stylesbylisa
Verified Apr 25, 2025

it would have been much better to use one of his sons

Apr 1, 2025

One of the best of 2024, beautiful tribute to the Bob Marley legacy. Marketing team did an awful job promoting this movie. Deserves more recognition. 43% Critics rating < 91% audience, says it all.

Mar 11, 2025

It's worth the watch, espically for someone like me who dosen't know a ton about Bob Marley.

Mar 10, 2025

Good film, Kingsley Ben-Adir was great at playing bob marley. Great use of songs.

Mar 8, 2025

[Let me preface this review by saying I know nothing about Bob Marley. I wanted to see this film for Kingsley Ben-Adir’s portrayal of this iconic figure.] Bob Marley: One Love is the story of the titular musician’s life between the “Smile Jamaica” and the “Bob Marley: One Love” concerts. It is a standard biopic and shows his rise to global fame and the relational challenges that come along with it. The film opening and closing with intertitles seems a safe way to frame the story... a montage (like we saw in Golda) would have been a stronger opening to set the tone for the film. Kingsley's portrayal of Marley is well-rounded and shows depth and understanding of the person. His Jamaican accent sounds hyper-authentic, but unfortunately to the point where it's incredibly tough to understand him. I missed half his lines. I would have appreciated more pronunciation from him, similar to the way Lynch delivered her lines. Kingsley brought a physicality to this role, in his appearance - no doubt thanks to the makeup & hairstyling department - shot out to them for the dreads!!! - which his features are perfect for, but also in his mannerisms and movement. This aspect of his acting made Bob Marley tangible and believable. Lashana Lynch brought power to this film. Bob Marley is the soul and of course the voice, but Rita felt like the heart. Her survival from the shooting showed resilience, and that set the tone for her character throughout the rest of the film. She has some of the most memorable lines from the film and delivers them with that same strength. There are a lot of missed opportunities to take creative risks with Marley’s flashbacks. With a lot of the missed dialogue, these scenes felt powerful - which was supported by the score - but lacked the meaning written into the script but missed in the line delivery. The film is titled after the concert by the same name… but I wanted to see more about Bob Marley’s life, he himself. Everyone knows he’s musically famous, and ignited the global reggae movement, but what about his younger life? There were flashbacks to his life as a teenager and his budding relationship with Rita, but those were cut short. I wanted more of that - how did he become who he is? Also, the weight of the gang violence in Jamaica was lost. It was mentioned and touched on in some short scenes, established so that is not missing from the context, but again: an opening montage to set the stage would have been more impactful. Good performances, great hairstyling - and the music of course is the driving factor throughout the whole film. Nothing crazy special, but definitely worth a watch.

Feb 25, 2025

Hollywood shouldn’t have told this story. It has the potential to have an entirely different world of a deep cultural depth. The whole movie feels like a pitch for the movie. The lead actor has nothing in common with the countless interviews I’ve seen of the man himself both physically and spiritually.

Feb 9, 2025

The music is great, but the storyline is a love story through Rita Marley's perspective , I feel it could have had more passion, if she intended it to be a love story!

Feb 2, 2025

Wanted to like it more as a huge Bob Marley fan but it felt very thin. Not much to it. Hearing the songs is always great and was the bright spot for me.

Jan 31, 2025

So I really didn't know much about Bob Marley and I thought this was good film about certain time of the famous musician's life. The only drawback for me was I could barely understand what was being said with the never authentic but thick accents. I probably need to watch it again with subtitles and I probably would like it better.

Jan 29, 2025

Bob Marley: One Love beautifully celebrates his music legacy and culture, but it falls short in delving into the deeper roots of his life and the struggles he and his band endured before achieving music stardom. If you’re a fan of his music and connect with him spiritually, you can still enjoy and appreciate both the film and the aspects of his life. However, if you seek a more in-depth and authentic portrayal of an iconic figure with humble beginnings, you’ll be disappointed by the film’s watered-down narrative. Grading: C

Jan 25, 2025

A charming well-made tribute to Bob Marley and his struggle to bring music amidst the civil strife of Jamacia that stumbles a bit with some of its biopic narrative conventions, particularly with a few melodramatic marital drama bits that felt rushed and the ending cutting to the credits instead of fully reenacting the entire climactic concert of peace that the entire movie had been building up to.

Kate B
Verified Jan 20, 2025

Great movie did not like that it was only told from Rita Marley perspective

Jan 5, 2025

Great Job! The Life of Bob Marley is life, music & legacy is a big perfect movie!

Dec 29, 2024

Great music nice movie...!!!!

Newton
Verified Dec 27, 2024

Great music throughout the movie!

Dec 23, 2024

Put an English actor in a bad wig and have him mine to Bob Marley's music, and your film will be green lit. Bob Marley: One Love isn't the turkey the critics make it out to be, but it's not that good either. The fact is, hearing those hits pounding out of the THX speakers for two hours will keep you entertained, even if the screenplay is a bit weak. The film studiously avoids giving Wailers co-founders Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer more than a cursory acknowledgement, and although we see musicians like Aston and Carlton Barrett in action, really, the film is all about Bob. His character is simplified for the screen, being the natural mystic he liked to portray himself as during the latter part of his life. The tensions in Jamaica between gangs and politicians are shown effectively, as are Marley's part in uniting the island. Rita Marley comes across very well, something I'm sure Executive Producer Rita Marley made sure of. I recommend this film, but just enjoy the music. Don't expect anything serious.

Brian J
Verified Dec 19, 2024

very entertaining definitely would recommend

Trey
Verified Dec 9, 2024

Great to see your iconic story being told of a legend however, the story had plot holes and a storyline felt rush and it felt one-sided Rita Marley side.

Dec 2, 2024

Great bio pic, I love bob marley

judy
Verified Dec 2, 2024

Good movie but was missing something

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