Bob Marley: One Love is a thoroughly generic biopic told in an entertaining fashion. It starts off with an interesting idea focusing on a specific part of Marley's life and honing in on the unifying power of his music before quickly becoming the kind of biopic that's been done so many times before, frustratingly saving the most powerful moment for the archive footage at the end.
Even when this genre is at its blandest the central performance is rarely the problem and that's absolutely the case here. Kingsley Ben-Adir gives a wonderful performance that never strays into parody and is the only time the film comes close to making Marley feel human. It's also great that Lashana Lynch is given so much, supporting whilst still getting some spotlight.
Reinaldo Marcus Green's direction ends the film a little too early and uses a flashback heavy structure to hit all the required beats but it's all done in a technically competent and very serious way which helps. The soundtrack is obviously a major highlight however the score by Kris Bowers is an unexpected highlight thanks to its very dramatic nature.
Even when this genre is at its blandest the central performance is rarely the problem and that's absolutely the case here. Kingsley Ben-Adir gives a wonderful performance that never strays into parody and is the only time the film comes close to making Marley feel human. It's also great that Lashana Lynch is given so much, supporting whilst still getting some spotlight.
Reinaldo Marcus Green's direction ends the film a little too early and uses a flashback heavy structure to hit all the required beats but it's all done in a technically competent and very serious way which helps. The soundtrack is obviously a major highlight however the score by Kris Bowers is an unexpected highlight thanks to its very dramatic nature.