'Elvis' review: Baz Luhrmann's frenetic style overwhelms Austin Butler's showstopping role as Elvis Presley - CNN

That places the emphasis on a heavily made-up Hanks -- adopting an accent that can at best be described as punishing -- who serves as the narrator and directly addresses the audience.

"I am the man who gave the world Elvis Presley," Parker boasts, adding, "Me and Elvis, we was partners."

"Elvis" thus kicks off at the critical phase when Parker comes into Presley's life as he's regionally launching his singing career.

But Parker's frame of reference has less to do with music -- indeed, he's largely indifferent to that -- than carnival attractions, almost salivating when he identifies the powerful effect that Elvis' gyrations have on females in the crowd.

While that still leaves room to chart Presley's spectacular rise despite the creative and professional shackles that Parker placed upon him, Luhrmann's narrative approach doesn't really develop the characters, including, to a degree, Presley himself.

Scenes race by so quickly that even Elvis' wife Priscilla (Olivia DeJonge), parents (Helen Thomson and "Moulin Rouge!" alum Richard Roxburgh) and posse of Memphis pals are name-checked but barely register, despite a movie that runs more than 2 ½ hours.

Where does the time go?