'Bob Marley: One Love' review: A soundtrack in search of a film

In a post-"Bohemian Rhapsody" world, no one expects any sort of critical eye from big screen music movies, but "Bob Marley: One Love" is polite to the point of banality. The doting biopic depicts several years in the life of Bob Marley but doesn't manage to say a single thing about the man, other than he seemed like a pretty cool guy to be around.

Made in conjunction with the Marley estate — Marley's son Ziggy, his widow Rita and his daughter Cedella are producers on the project — "One Love" does feature wall-to-wall music by the reggae legend, so at least it has that going for it. But it's a soundtrack in search of a film.

When "One Love" opens, Marley is already a superstar, so the filmmakers manage to sidestep all that messy getting-to-know-you business, or learning about what really made him tick. It's 1976, and Marley — played by Kingsley Ben-Adir, who was Malcolm X in "One Night in Miami..." — is getting ready to headline a concert for peace in Jamaica, as warring political parties have the island country on the brink of civil war. Tensions are high but Marley insists on not backing down, even as he becomes a target for assassination and his wife (Lashana Lynch) is shot in the head by an assailant. (She lives.)

The buildup to the concert is presented as the narrative drive to the film, but the concert comes and goes and then it's off to London as Marley works on 1977's "Exodus" album. And it's here where we get loads of hang time in the studio with Bob, as he and his bandmates record, vibe together and brush off clueless label execs, who are always an easy target in these kinds of movies. (Michael Gandolfini plays one of the marketing wizards, who's laughed at for suggesting different cover art for the album. What an idiot!)

Marley wants to create, he wants to inspire, he wants to tour Africa. But there's no infrastructure there, he's told. "We can build it!" he offers. And so on: "One Love" doesn't have any real insight into its subject, instead offering adulation and worship. He records, he performs, he fights through a cancer diagnosis. He keeps going, for his people, for symbolism.

"One Love" is directed by "King Richard's" Reinaldo Marcus Green, who also co-wrote the screenplay with three others. It's fueled by Marley's music — "No Woman No Cry," "I Shot the Sheriff," "Get Up, Stand Up," etc. — and there's one of those montages that shows his music racing up the charts, a music biopic staple.

When it's time to show his faults — an argument with his wife, a violent backstage attack on his tour manager — it treats them as blips on the radar, nothing a haze of smoke can't fix.

Ben-Adir's performance is strictly surface level, but the role as written doesn't require much other than looking stylish (Marley's fits are presented as 2024 Instagram-fresh, was he really rocking all those tailored jeans?), nodding his head and occasionally mentioning Rastafari. Adidas is given so much screen time it is practically a presenting sponsor.

There's a nice moment late in the movie when Marley is singing "Redemption Song" around a campfire at home, one of the few organic-feeling music moments in the film. When did he write that one, his wife asks him. "My whole life," Marley replies. That's how "One Love" goes: It treats its subject as a mystic power, untethered from the ground, floating above the fray. It sees him as a myth, not a man.

agraham@detroitnews.com

'Bob Marley: One Love'

GRADE: C-

Rated PG-13: for marijuana use and smoking throughout, some violence and brief strong language

Running time: 107 minutes

In theaters