Better Man (2024)

Director: Michael Gracey

Starring: Jonno Davies, Steve Pemberton, Damon Herriman, Jake Simmance

The meteoric rise, dramatic fall, and remarkable resurgence of British pop superstar Robbie Williams.

What the hell were they thinking???!!

‘Better Man’ is the story of a nobody who became a superstar. This is the story of Robbie Williams. Apparently, it was Robbie’s idea to depict himself as a chimpanzee in the movie, because he sees himself as “unevolved”. As a result, the character of Robbie is a CGI monkey for the entire film!!! Why didn’t they only portray him as a monkey when he was alone, or looking at a reflection of himself? That would have made more sense. It looked like a character from ‘Planet of the Apes’ ended up in the wrong movie.

Lets forget about the monkey, chimp, ape, baboon, primate, whatever, for a moment. Robbie was an ambitious youngster who always knew he wanted to be a performer. He got his chance when he auditioned for a boy band called Take That when he was just fifteen. For a short while he enjoyed the world of fame and fortune until drugs and alcohol ruined him.

But, being the determined person he is, he decided to pursue a solo career and soon stole the hearts of Britain and became a sensation, selling millions of albums and breaking records.

The visual effects and editing – especially during the Rock DJ musical scene – are excellent. In fact, this particular scene is probably one of the best scenes I’ve ever seen in a musical. I had such high hopes for the movie, but alas, the monkey just didn’t work for me. It’s not realistic seeing a monkey among other people, acting like a person. Ok, essentially, he IS a person looking like a monkey…oh, whatever…

The romantic scenes simply doesn’t work with Robbie looking like a monkey. In fact, NONE of the scenes work with this character being a CGI monkey!! When watching a biography, I want to see a PERSON, not a bloody MONKEY! Apart from the annoying monkey, I eventually became a bit bored with the story in general. It really is a pity, because this is a very well made movie with some amazing scenes.

It’s very easy to see why the movie flopped at the box office. Firstly, that darn monkey!! It felt like it removed every inch of realism and I eventually viewed him as a freak of nature instead of a manifestation of Robbie’s vision of his true self. If it wasn’t for the CGI from beginning to end, then the budget would have been far less and it wouldn’t have flopped as massively as it did. They also didn’t do their homework properly. It turns out Robbie wasn’t as well known globally as he thought. Apparently most of America doesn’t know him at all. And to think they spent more making a film about a man who is only popular in Britain than a man who is famous all around the world. Yup, a film about Elvis Presley had a budget of $85 million, while ‘Better Man’ about Robbie Williams has a budget of $110 million!!! WHAT WERE THEY THINKING????? With a runtime of 2 hours 15 minutes, this movie is also way too long.

At the end of the movie, Robbie says the following, and I quote: “I’m a fucking entertainer. It might be cabaret, but it’s world-class cabaret, and I’m the fucking best at it. Fuck yourselves!” There’s biographies and then there’s self-indulgence, and ‘Better Man’ is the latter. Sorry, Robbie, it seems you are not world-class. The film didn’t just flop at the box office, it bombed and sank like the Titanic, earning less than $20 million on a budget of $110 million. That must be a blow to Robbie’s ego… (Go fuck yourself, Robbie!)

Would I watch it again? No.