Elvis (2022)

Elvis is special because it doesn’t just recount a legend’s greatest hits; it tries to bottle the electricity of what it felt like when Elvis first detonated on American pop culture, and it does it with Baz Luhrmann’s trademark rush of color, rhythm, and sensation. Austin Butler is the movie’s beating heart, capturing not only the voice and swagger, but the private vulnerability that makes the icon feel startlingly human, while Tom Hanks plays Colonel Tom Parker as a smiling shadow you can’t quite shake. The vibe is a fever-dream concert film crossed with a tragic backstage story—dazzling, loud, and emotionally bruising when it needs to be. If you prefer restrained, quietly observational biopics, Luhrmann’s maximalism may be too much, but if you want a big-screen spectacle with real pulse and ache, this one earns its roar.

Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis is trying to turn a familiar rise-and-fall story into a loud, modern, operatic spectacle, and on that level it often delivers: the concert energy is electric and Austin Butler commits hard enough to make you believe the icon. The catch is the movie filters much of Elvis through Colonel Tom Parker’s narration, which can leave you feeling oddly distant from the man you came to understand, like you’re watching the business of Elvis more than Elvis himself. The hyperactive editing and sprinting pacing can be thrilling if you like Luhrmann’s maximalist style, but exhausting if you want a steadier, more intimate biopic, and Tom Hanks’s take on Parker may pull you out of scenes rather than deepen them. If you’re here for a polished, emotionally grounded character study, this might frustrate you; if you want a flashy, music-driven rollercoaster with a strong lead performance, it’s easier to forgive the messiness.