Released on June 24, 2022, “Elvis” graced movie theater screens across the world, bringing in $281.8 million USD to the box office. Rated 78% by Rotten Tomatoes and 7.5/10 by IMDb, “Elvis” will not disappoint you. “Elvis” cast member, Austin Butler, won the HCA Best Actor award for his role in the film, and the movie was nominated for the HCA best picture award and the HCA Best Director Award. 

It is important to note that this article will contain information about the movie, so in order to prevent spoiling the movie, I suggest not reading any further if you have not seen it. 

Going to see “Elvis” for the first time was my way of closing out my summer, enjoying one of my final free August nights hanging out at the Lexington drive-in and watching a double feature. The scent of freshly popped popcorn filled the air and shooting stars lit up the sky, giving the drive-in’s atmosphere a perfect feel before settling down to watch “Elvis.” After patiently sitting through the first movie and intermission, I watched as the screen finally lit up with one of my now new favorite movies. 

Directed by Baz Luhrmann, “Elvis” follows the life and career of Elvis Presley, a famous rock and roll singer whose music career lasted around two decades. It has a run time of 2 hours and 39 minutes, and is rated PG-13 for strong language, smoking, substance abuse, and suggestive material. 

The story throughout the movie is told through Colonel Tom Parker’s perspective, who is Presley’s manager. In the beginning of the movie, Colonel Tom Parker collapses in his office, and the theater screen flashes to images of newspaper headlines calling Parker a “crook,” due to the accusations of him being an immoral manager with Presley’s money. As he lays on his deathbed as a result from a stroke, he begins to reflect on his life of first meeting and managing Elvis Presley. From there, the movie goes on to show Elvis’ entire life and career, starting from his childhood in a poor neighborhood to his death in 1977. 

Starring Austin Butler as Elvis Presley, and Tom Hanks as Colonel Tom Parker, you will not be disappointed by their portrayals of these two figures. First, I have to applaud Austin Butler’s portrayal of Elvis Presley, specifically praising the way he trained his voice to mimic Elvis’. According to Entertainment, Butler’s audition took a total of five months, in which he had to alter his talking and singing voice to reflect that of Elvis’. It also states that Butler had to change the way he mimicked Elvis’ voice throughout the film, because the way he spoke changed drastically over the course of a couple decades, as the movie plays through his entire life. 

I also was fond of the story line, which never found itself at a dull moment. I have to add that I do have a short attention span and I fall asleep easily when it comes to watching movies, however “Elvis” kept me intrigued the entire two and a half hours it ran, and never once did I doze off. (Not to mention that it was nearing 2 a.m.) 

However, my favorite part of “Elvis” had to be the music that was incorporated throughout the movie. Classic Elvis songs such as “Baby, Let’s play House,” “Jailhouse Rock,” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love” were used in the movie, all sung by Austin Butler. However, one of the things that I loved was that the movie incorporated music other than Elvis songs. Throughout the movie, you can hear artists such Doja Cat, Eminem, and Kacey Musgraves accompany their songs into the movie. 

In the end, I encourage anyone who is a fan of “the King of Rock and Roll” to go out and see “Elvis.” It is a thoroughly thought out and well-made look at Elvis’ life. For a closer look at more reviews and ratings, visit here.