Elvis (2022) * * 1/2

Directed by:  Baz Luhrmann

Starring:  Austin Butler, Tom Hanks, David Wenham, Richard Roxburgh, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Helen Thomson, Olivia DeJonge, Kelvin Harrison, Jr.

Elvis has the flash and style befitting the King of Rock and Roll, but lacks in the substance department.  Baz Luhrmann's films have always been on style overload and Elvis is no exception.   At times, it creates a sustaining energy while at other times you wonder why hip-hop music is being played in 1950's Memphis.  The result of Elvis is an uneven mixed bag which overshadows its performances.

Austin Butler as Elvis and Tom Hanks as the enigmatic Col. Tom Parker are at the heart of Elvis, with the movie opening in 1997 Las Vegas as the elderly and obese Col. Parker hospitalized after collapsing in his home.  He tells the story of meeting Elvis Presley on the carnival circuit and realizing how special he was as his hips jiggled their way into the hearts of his fans.   Col. Parker, a self-proclaimed "snowman" who freely admits to snowing the public into believing what he wants them to believe, signs Presley to an exclusive contract and the Elvis story begins.

Familiar ground is covered:  Religious and government authorities in the 1950's South want to arrest Elvis on indecency charges for swiveling his hips in his concerts, Elvis' drafting into the Army (which the movie suggests may have been a Col. Parker maneuvering), his meeting and subsequent marriage to Priscilla, the comeback special, Elvis' descent into drug addiction, and Col, Parker managing by hook or by crook (mostly crook) to keep his claws in Elvis.   Col. Parker, who was born in the Netherlands and resided in the United States illegally, always managed to talk Elvis out of a world tour because of his own fear of being deported.   I don't know exactly if Hanks' accent sounds like the real Parker, but it creates an aura of a menacing warden or a shameless used car huckster who continually is able to convince Elvis to follow his career advice.   Sometimes, I assume Parker was both.

Butler (who co-starred memorably in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood as the creepy Manson follower Tex) has Elvis' look and moves down pat.   Where the movie falters is not providing any further insight into Elvis than what we already know.   Butler inhabits the jumpsuits convincingly and can sing, but the sly joy of an Elvis show is missing.   Then, the movie does the ultimate disservice to Butler by sliding in footage of the real Elvis in his last concert belting the hell out of Unchained Melody despite barely being able to sit upright at the piano.   Butler is overshadowed by the real thing, which isn't his fault, because it is difficult to recreate the charisma and charm of the icon himself.   Butler tries his mightiest, and with Hanks nearly succeeds in pulling the overly long Elvis across the finish line.