There is only one man that does reggae the best of all others, that's Bob Marley. This man was way before his time the music he created will span generation after generation. The movie ‘Bob Marley: One Love’, is a tribute to the legend, although it lacks a lot when you actually look at the body of work the Jamaican has done. He was a rare soul of a human being he put his pain, his joy, his life into his music.

Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green (‘King Richard’), the film is a noble but uninspired attempt to capture some of the essence of Marley. As Bob Marley, played by Ben Kingsley-Adir, Kingsley gives a splendid performance, more so he has the voice. The talented British actor has the growl and lilt of the singer’s resonant Jamaican accent and is executed very well.

The film pans Marley’s life set in the aftermath of a 1976 shooting that wounded Marley, to his self-imposed exile in London — on tour in Europe, recording the 1977 album “Exodus”, hobnobs with the swells, and reassesses his place in the global pop universe, and ultimately receiving a diagnosis of cancer. Any fan of Bob Marley watching the film, would expect a section his childhood and how he became such a big phenomena. The film pans his life from 1976 to his untimely death in 1981.

The film opens in 1976, when Bob Marley is at his peak, getting ready to play a peace concert in Kingston, amid the violent factionalism of Jamaican politics. Before the concert, a pair of gunmen break into his compound, where they shoot his wife, Rita (Lashana Lynch), in the car and attempt to assassinate Marley. The two are lucky to escape, Marley with barely a flesh wound, and Rita, though she lands in the hospital, recovering quickly.

The political turmoil in Jamaica weighs heavily on Marley throughout film; so you get to see images of fields aflame not once but twice in the film. It is wonderful to watch how he brings together his countrymen, and others in similar situations around the world. When white executives push back against touring in Africa due to its lack of infrastructure, he replies, “So we build it.”

The events of the film are years after the breakup of the Wailing Wailers so you won’t see anything connected with Peter Tosh, Allan Cole and Bunny Wailer, which is actually a pity. They were the backbone of his musical ideology. The most notable supporting roles go to Lashana Lynch who plays Rita Marley, Bob Marley’s wife, and Brit actor James Norton, who plays Island Records music producer and founder Chris Blackwell. For those who don’t know, it was Blackwell who discovered the reggae talent and nurtured Marley’s rise to the top with the two forging a close bond along the way.

On the music front, the music is memorable but lacks the fizz in performances. Ben-Adir doesn’t himself sing the songs but relies on Marley recordings, which is fair.

The performance that really is the highlight of the film is the One Love Peace Concert at the end, which was put on in Jamaica in 1978 as a way to heal the divided, violent country. Marley, during the song Jammin’, pulls in rival party leaders Edward Seaga and Michael Manley on stage. As the credits roll, it’s wonderful to hear in full blast the top track of Marley’s One Love playing on.

Hollywood has certainly brought in music biographical dramas to the growing fans who adore music artists, and ‘Bob Marley: One Love’ has its good moments, despite a few misgivings.

Cast: Ben Kingsley-Adir, Lashana Lynch, James Norton

Directed By: Reinaldo Marcus Green

Reviewed By Verus Ferreira