Bob Marley is undoubtedly one of the most recognizable singers in the reggae genre. His songs and talent is known worldwide, so it’s not surprising that a biopic, titled Bob Marley: One Love was recently released, detailing Bob Marley’s journey into fame. 

I love movies, I love reggae, but I’ll admit, this one was a little tough to sit through. Most of these issues are subjective, though.

For starters, this movie is extremely fast-paced. It wasn’t until about the one-hour mark that scenes were slower and more thoughtful. But before then, the scenes seemingly lasted less than 5 minutes. Overall, I feel as though the pacing, flashbacks and busy scenes made it (at least the first half of the movie) seem a little convoluted. It’s not hard to follow, but I could see someone getting lost in the plot. 

It was also just… a little boring in some (most) scenes. This movie is a little more chill with less action, but when there was action, it was very entertaining. For example, I think the argument between Bob Marley and his wife was pretty good, but that was probably one of the few scenes I truly liked. So I guess if you like more laid-back movies, this one’s for you.

This could 100% be on me, but coming into this movie I thought that it would be about Bob Marley’s entire life, not just when he was already famous. I wonder why though, since from the (very few) flashbacks he seemed to have had an interesting childhood.

Last but not least, I found the text against the black screen at the beginning and end a little weird. Honestly, I think the font was unappealing, and some of the information was better being shown visually.

By all means, this isn’t a bad movie. It’s just the way the story is told is a little odd. I didn’t know much about Bob Marley before besides his music and death, but I think I learned a lot about him from this movie. I think the actors did a great job portraying the dramatics of his life. 

Also, I liked how his songs played in the background of most of the scenes. But that’s just because I enjoy reggae. I could, however, see someone getting annoyed about the songs playing almost back to back.

So honestly, for like the first time ever, I don’t recommend it. Maybe if you’re bored on a Friday night, then go crazy, but for something meaningful, this isn’t it. I can imagine it’s hard shooting a biopic, but I think if a little bit more time or effort was put into this production, it would have been better. 

Overall, I give this movie a 4.5/10. It wasn’t the best, maybe they’ll get it right next time. Again, this is just my opinion. If you think this movie was great, that’s amazing!