Artwork: Courtesy of Paramount Films

Last Wednesday, I was fortunate to see the new film Bob Marley: One Love, released that day. The film follows the late reggae singer/songwriter Bob Marley, his rise to fame during the mid-1970s, and later his death in 1981. It was described as a biopic that follows Bob Marley’s journey in making the album One Love. This movie was one of the most anticipated movies in 2024. So far, the film has received mixed reviews from critics and has grossed about 81 million. 

 Growing up, my father was one of the billions of Bob Marley fans; from my earliest memories, I remember my dad blasting song after song, especially while going to the beach. So I was extremely excited and had high expectations for the film based on rave reviews I had heard personally and because of my connection to his music. Maybe it’s because I was expecting a different type of movie, but my initial reaction after the film was a little thrown off. As the movie describes itself as a biopic, I felt that although it follows Bob Marley’s story, it does not to the fullest extent. The film begins with Bob Marley, played by Kingsley Ben-Adir, being seen at a press conference in his early 20s. He then is seen playing sports and driving around with his sons until some shooting occurs; this reminds the audience how intense violence was during that time, which was crucial knowing that Bob Marley extensively advocated for peace.

Throughout the film, although we get a few flashbacks of his childhood, like him being with his future wife, Rita Marley, who was played by Lashana Lynch, and imagining himself as a child being saved by what seemed to be his father, who was earlier seen abandoning Bob Marley. Although that is some of the information we get from his past, since I had never seen any in-depth documentaries based on Bob Marley or other Biopics, I was expecting to see more of Bob Marley’s upbringing and see how he got into the music industry rather than starting from the middle of his career. Not being able to see this part of his story felt like a missing piece, although I still enjoyed figuring out how well he succeeded in music.

For example, we see Bob Marley auditioning in a small studio with his band, The Wailers, for a short period, which seems to be his first big break. The film quickly moves on from that as we see Bob Marley performing and making groundbreaking achievements in music. 

 As the film progresses, it remains to reel you in with the fantastic soundtrack and story of Bob Marley. Without a doubt, the cinematography was beautiful and impactful, even though I felt there could have been some transitions to let the audience know where they were in the film rather than sudden flashbacks and time jumps. Though I genuinely think that Kingsley Ben-Adir performed significantly, as did Lashana Lynch, they embodied their given person beautifully. And I would love to watch the film again solely for their performances.

 Overall, I believe that the film was a good watch, and I recommend you watch it at least once in theaters to see the inspiring story of Bob Marley. Although there were some things I felt the film could have changed, which I mentioned previously, I still believe that the story was well portrayed and had a great message. This movie helps keep Bob Marley’s legacy alive, and I also found the fact that fellow Marleys produced the movie to be very special. If you watch the film, please let us know your thoughts and whether you agree or disagree with this review.