Based on this evidence, I have my doubts that Elvis ever left the building (CREDIT: NEON)
Starring: Elvis Presley
Director: Baz Luhrmann
Running Time: 100 Minutes
Rating: PG-13 for Tobacco Usage and Some Language
Release Date: February 20, 2026 (IMAX Theaters)/February 27, 2026 (General Theaters)
What’s It About?: In the course of turning Austin Butler into a biopic version of the King of Rock and Roll, director Baz Luhrmann unearthed hours of previously unseen concert footage of the real Elvis Presley. Now a good chunk of those performances have been assembled into the cinematic experience EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert, which mixes the King on stage with interviews and clips from his acting career. You can experience it for yourself on the big BIG screen if you head to IMAX theaters on February 20, or you can wait a week for the less immersive theaters. Or you could wait for the eventual home entertainment release, but this is undoubtedly a presentation that demands to be taken in communally.
What Made an Impression?: The Dream of Rock ‘n’ Roll is Still Alive: There doesn’t seem to be much rhyme or reason to the editing order in EPiC, at least none that I could readily detect. It’s more about just maintaining the energy for a feature-length period of time. As we freely weave through space and time, there is a bit of a surreal energy to the proceedings (though not nearly as much as there is in something like the David Bowie doc Moonage Daydream). I think I generally prefer that freewheeling approach to something more straightforward in this genre, and I wish that this outing had been even more impressionistic.
To Leave or To Enter (the Building)?: And now for the big question: is EPiC epic enough to convert the unconverted? I have little doubt that the Elvis superfans will be sufficiently entertained, but as for the rest of us? I enjoy the King well enough when his hip-shaking is right in front of me, but I’ve never had any desire to go off and visit Graceland. And this flick didn’t do anything to move the needle in that regard. So while EPiC is undeniably well-crafted, I wouldn’t call it game-changing. Still, I do have to give it up to the fine jobs performed by the audio and visual technicians restoring all this footage to such pristine quality.
EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert is Recommended If You: Want a little less conversation and a little more action every single day
Grade: 3 out of 5 Sweat Drops
Jmunney's Blog 