HHere’s a snapshot of the great singer-songwriter and pop genius as he prepares to retire from touring life; He will play his final live show in the US at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, the venue of his legendary 1975 concert, with many people in the large crowd now wearing their own versions of his diamond Dodgers outfit.

Never Too Late finds him on tour, hosting his podcast with husband David Furnish and spending time with friends and family, with the film periodically flashing back to the time of his US breakthrough in the early to mid-’70s . It was an era of breathtaking productivity, with lyricist Bernie Taupin dominating the album charts with multiple LPs and playing onstage in New York with his friend John Lennon to sing Lennon’s own live swansong. But Elton was also unhappy in his relationship with manager John Reid, abusing drugs, accepting his own identity as a gay man (he reveals in his podcast that he still hasn’t gotten used to the word “queer”) and looking for love.

Part of the discussion revolves around Elton’s conversations with his ghostwriter (and my Guardian colleague) Alexis Petridis, and there were times when I thought that this film, as watchable as it is, if only Petridis had creative control over this one If the film had, it could have emerged from their carefully managed pop promotional structure. It is the officially licensed narrative of Elton John’s life, which he actually already presented to us in Rocketman, the feature film that he executive produced in 2019 and which stars Taron Egerton: the unhappy childhood, the hard struggle to get started into the business, the ecstatic supernova of success in LA where loneliness and unhappiness were John’s guilty secrets. Now they are faced with his current Buddha-like charm and calm.

Like Rocketman, this documentary skimps on the 1980s: no discussion of his marriage to Renate Blauel, his friendship with Diana, Princess of Wales, or his ongoing difficult relationship with his elderly mother. It’s not the same as the 1997 tour documentary Tantrums and Tiaras, directed by Furnish, which offered a sharper look at Elton John’s temperament and the nervous energy of his creativity. But as always, there is joy and awe in hearing his great songs.