Elton John has a hard time saying goodbye. Throughout his storied career he has announced his retirement for all manner of rationales—in 1976, due to burnout after his career’s initial ascent into superstardom; in 2000, because of technical difficulties at Madison Square Garden during a performance intended for a live album—only to change his mind thereafter. However, having closed out his Farewell Yellow Brick Road world tour in 2023 and thus his days as an itinerant musician, the Rocket Man has proven himself a man of his word. Matters of the heart and home—fearing, now at age 77, that he won’t be around to see his young sons grow up, graduate high school and find love in their own lives, among other such personal milestones—understandably, are more difficult for him to reconcile.
Buy Elton John FAQ: All That’s Left to Know About the Rocket Man paperbackPremiering on Disney+ on December 13, Never Too Late profiles the music legend as a veritable man at the crossroads, wrestling to mend the tensions between his public and private life. Directed by R.J. Cutler and John’s husband and manager, David Furnish, the film through broad-brushstroke depictions yields a perfunctory though nevertheless compelling retrospective of the Rocket Man’s most pivotal epochs—professional as well as personal—over the past half century. Mostly told from the perspective of his epic Farewell Yellow Brick Road world tour as it wound down, particularly with his last U.S. dates as they culminated at Dodger Stadium where in 1975 he performed at the summit of his success and popularity.
At the same time, however, John was an emotional wreck, as he reflects in reminiscence, further underscoring the thematic crux at hand. His career provides the context; his family as well as his mortality provide the subtext—and the heart, the soul, and the emotional substance—of this endearing documentary.
(Incidentally, John rallied his full band for a comparably intimate, one-off performance on December 6, headlining the Segerstrom Center for Arts’ 50th Annual Candlelight Concert in Costa Mesa, California, showing that while he may very well have retired from the road, he by no means has retired from the stage altogether.)
More than a mere memento for fans who wish to relish the staggering talent they beheld on Elton John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour, Never Too Late is a charming film wherein this larger-than-life superstar comes down to earth, cherishes his children, and still plays some rock ‘n’ roll on the side.
