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Bob Marley: One Love doesn’t chart the entire reggae legend’s career, but mainly, just two years of his life, from 1976, when he wanted to set up a Jamaican peace concert, “Smile Jamaica”, to combat all the political tensions going on, and be an attempt to bring peace in a divided town where the government have failed… but then also look at how that’s been allowed to happen in the UK, not helped by how big a failure the mainstream media have been in promoting the Tories(!)
Later, Bob (Kingsley Ben-Adir – Barbie) and his band are jamming… when it’s all guns blaring, as he survives an assassination attempt, whereas others are not so lucky.
Along the way, Marley encounters the police shutting down a concert, with him feeling no other option but to go to London in the short-term, with plans to head to America later on, but for all the places the do visit, everywhere looks like London dolled up a bit – or not, when they’re actually IN London. Plus, it takes in their low-key album cover for Exodus, which gets a muted response from their record producer, Chris Blackwell (James Norton – Flatliners (2017 remake)), as well as his later health issues and how it led to his sad passing from cancer in 1981.
Bob Marley: One Love is passable as a film, and Marley was clearly influential and determined, but as a film, it’s quite dull in the telling. Plus, it looks very low budget, so how on Earth did it cost $70m to make?!
I’m also sure that comedian Stephen K Amos is in this, even though I can’t find him amongst the cast, yet his character was like something from one of his standup routines, so it must be him, surely? Either way, it was rather a distracting scene.
Bob Marley: One Love is in cinemas now, and is available to pre-order on 4K Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD, ahead of its release date TBA.
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 107 minutes
Release date: February 14th 2024
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 (ARRIRAW (4.6K))
Cinema: Odeon Trafford Centre
Rating: 4/10
Director: Reinaldo Marcus Green
Producers: Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Cedella Marley, Rita Marley, Ziggy Marley, Robert Teitel
Screenplay: Terence Winter, Frank E Flowers, Zach Baylin, Reinaldo Marcus Green
Music: Kris Bowers
Cast:
Bob Marley: Kingsley Ben-Adir
Rita Marley: Lashana Lynch
Chris Blackwell: James Norton
Tyrone Downie: Tosin Cole
Cindy Breakspeare: Umi Myers
Don Taylor: Anthony Welsh
Teen Rita Marley: Nia Ashi
Family Man Barrett: Aston Barrett Jr
Judy Mowatt: Anna-Sharé Blake
Antonio ‘Gillie’ Gilbert: Gawaine ‘J-Summa’ Campbell
Marcia Griffiths: Naomi Cowan
Peter Tosh: Alexx A-Game
Howard Bloom: Michael Gandolfini
Teen Bob Marley: Quan-Dajai Henriques
Junior Marvin: David Kerr
Carly Barrett: Hector Roots Lewis
Young Bob Marley: Nolan Collignon
Joe Strummer: Sam Palladio
Lee Scratch Perry: Everaldo Creary
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.