Title – Better Man (2024) 

Director – Michael Gracey (The Greatest Showman) 

Cast – Jonno Davies, Steve Pemberton, Raechelle Banno, Tom Budge, (voice of) Robbie Williams 

Plot – The story of pop superstar Robbie Williams (himself and Jonno Davies) and his rise up the ranks as one of the biggest musical superstars of all time.   

“If you’re gonna laugh, just do it on the inside, yeah?”

Review by Eddie on 22/01/2025

It didn’t take 2025 too long to gift us what is likely to be the biggest box office turkey of the calendar year in the form of ex-Take That/pop superstar Robbie Williams biopic Better Man. 

Technically released in most territories at the end of 2024, the Australian backed and co-financed Better Man was produced for a staggering $110 million dollars and has so far at the time of writing only just recouped 1/10th of its budget at the global box office, that includes a staggeringly poor sub-$2 million dollar return from the United States marketplace. 

A shocking result that is undeniably horrific for all involved, what’s most disappointing about the whole experience is that Better Man is actually far better than most run of the mill musical biopics, with the film bringing similar energy to the table that the Elton John tale Rocketman delivered a few years ago, ensuring that even if viewers never counted themselves as Williams fans, they will likely find much to enjoy about a film that was willing to take more than its fair share of big swings. 

Controversially (and in retrospect now based off the financial performance a misguided decision) deciding to cast Williams as a CGI monkey (a mo-capped Jonno Davies) to represent the way the performer sees himself as a performing primate and different to all those around him, Australian director Michael Gracey follows up his surprise smash hit debut The Greatest Showman with a feature that can’t be accused of playing it safe, with Gracey bringing a huge amount of enthusiasm to the material here as we follow Williams from a ratbag child/teenager to a drug addled pop superstar who did his best to derail his career on multiple occasions, in a variety of ways. 

Following in the footsteps of many stereotypical tropes of these musical biopics and real life stories of countless famed performers, Gracey throws every trick in the bag he can at the audience here to ensure Better Man never feels like its just another by the numbers exercise and while the film starts to suffer around the mid-way mark of a repetitive feeling process of Williams doing drugs, getting drunk and seeing past iterations of his life haunt him as he tries to heal and push forward, when Better Man soars it soars high and provides a rollicking piece of cinematic entertainment that was deserving of more audience attention. 

Whether its a stunning Rock DJ segment that is produced in a one-take act of cinematic wizardry, a wonderfully staged first meeting between Williams and his at the time love interest Nicole Appleton on a yacht or a self-destructive drive by Williams to the tune of Come Undone, Better Man has more than its fair share of standout moments that go hand in hand with some fairly flawless CGI work of its main character, creating a film that at its best is pure unbridled magic and at its worst a more workmanlike and paint by numbers exploration of a musical icon who has never done things the easy way. 

It might not be able to be regarded as a classic but its a shame in an industry/medium that is crying out for more creative risks and disrupters Better Man has been ignored in such a large way as its a likely deterrent for future projects that were going to take such a risky and unexpected route to try similar things or mix up well-trodden ground. 

With the likelihood of Gracey’s film breaking out in a big way once it hits streaming services, there’s a glimmer of hope Better Man does far better than it’s done so far in its brief life out in the wild to at least showcase an audience exists for this type of project even if they first appeared to be few and far between. 

Final Say – 

A disastrous box office flop that deserved better when it came to audiences opening their wallets, Better Man doesn’t always work but when it does it provides us with one of the most exhilarating musically infused biopics of the modern era that will against all the odds make you forget your watching a CGI monkey get drunk, do drugs and gyrate on stage. 

3 1/2 watermelons out of 5