Netflix adds ‘one of the best films ever’ with near-perfect Rotten Tomatoes score

Austin Butler’s acclaimed biopic, Elvis, from beloved filmmaker Baz Luhrman, is imminently arriving on Netflix.

The 2022 movie was widely praised by critics and fans alike for its gritty but glitzy portrayal of legendary singer Elvis Presley’s life and globe-spanning career.

Former child star Austin scored plenty of accolades for his ‘marvellous’ performance as The King of Rock and Roll in this ‘sparkling and extravagant spectacle’ which also starred Tom Hanks.

As well as scoring a coveted Oscar nomination for best actor, he won a Bafta and Golden Globe for the movie which sits at an impressive 94% on Rotten Tomatoes with its audience score.

‘The visuals of the movie were absolutely stunning, I was mesmerized and amazed throughout its entire duration. Austin Butler completely nailed his part,’ RT user Anna A wrote.

‘Austin Butler’s performance was beautiful, captivating and insightful. Baz Luhrmann and his wife Catherine Martin are so talented in their visual creations. All of them should have swept the Oscars for this absolutely brilliant film!!’ Julie J echoed.

Austin Butler’s starring turn in Elvis has been awarded (Picture: Warner Bros/Everett/REX/Shutterstock)

Tom Hanks also appears in the movie (Picture: Warner Bros/Moviestore/Shutterstock)

And film critics also shared their love for the movie.

‘Elvis is a powerhouse of music, superb performances, and immaculate filmmaking. It’s a religious experience of a film. A spiritual exercise in movie making. One of the best films of the year – any year,’ critic Joonatan Itkonen shared.

‘Of the actors who have previously tried to bottle Elvis’s lightning-like magic, none has come close to the physical, emotional, electrical energy that throbs through Austin Butler’s titular performance here,’ the Observer shared.

Discussing the role of a lifetime, the 33-year-old actor told Deadline: ‘I think there will always be. It was such a huge chunk of my life that I was doing nothing else, so there are certain parts of it which will be infused in my DNA.’

And he has previously shared that it came with ‘immense terror and a nearly crippling amount of responsibility’.

Austin faced various challenges to secure the gig, including putting on weight to embody an older Elvis.

Austin went on an emotional and physical journey with the role (Picture: AP)

‘I’d heard that Ryan Gosling, when he was going to do The Lovely Bones, microwaved Häagen-Dazs and would drink it. So, I started doing that.

‘I would go get two dozen doughnuts and eat them all. I really started to pack on some pound. It’s fun for a week or so, and then you feel awful with yourself,’ he said at the time.

The star has enjoyed a lucrative post-Disney career including roles in Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, Masters of the Air and The Bikeriders.

But Elvis will stick with him in more ways than one, as he revealed that capturing the Southern drawl and singing so many tunes ‘probably damaged’ his vocal cords.

‘I am getting rid of the accent, but I have probably damaged my vocal cords with all that singing. One song took 40 takes!’ he told Graham Norton.

Elvis arrives on Netflix UK on Friday, January 3.

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