Critic Reviews
74
Metascore
Generally Favorable
positive
19(79%)
mixed
5(21%)
negative
0(0%)
Showing 24 Critic Reviews
Apr 20, 2020
91
It is, in essence, a two-hour curtain call, a celebration of not only their music but their friendship, and a chance for the duo to have the last word on their legacy.
Apr 20, 2020
90
This is a film that’s hilarious, sad, and for some reason features an entire montage set to Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5.”
May 7, 2020
90
The trip through their history is a trip through the 1980s and ’90s, and Diamond and Horowitz offer the unique perspective of people in the middle of it then who are on the outside looking back, knowledgeable observers who know more now than they knew then. And isn’t that the idea?
Apr 23, 2020
88
This is more than mere fan service slide show. It is a joyous, infectious story of the human capacity to change, and the importance of creative freedom to guide that change.
Apr 20, 2020
83
Much of the movie operates as a playful nostalgia trip, and at two hours that’s asking a lot, but Beastie Boys Story is also imbued with a moving sense of purpose: The story doubles as a tribute to beloved multi-hyphenate Adam “MCA” Yauch, whose 2012 death from cancer catalyzed the dissolution of the group.
Apr 20, 2020
83
To be sure, the concept of Spike Jonze directing a Beastie Boys documentary conjures up flashier results than this. But taking it for what it is, Beastie Boys Story remains an entertaining, insightful, and unexpectedly fun look back at three of hip-hop’s most iconic voices.
Apr 20, 2020
80
This film is a time capsule of the 1980s: an era that was crass and excessive in so many ways, but now seems weirdly exotic.
Apr 20, 2020
80
A filmed stage show with barely any bells and whistles, this is an endearing trip through time, via a band who constantly changed the game. And the music is immense.
Apr 20, 2020
80
Beastie Boys Story is less seamless, but more personal, than a classic documentary. Horovitz and Diamond are infectious company, and the film does a meticulous job of presenting the evolution of Adam Yauch, who was always on the edge of technology (it was his idea to tape-loop “When the Levee Breaks”), as well as postmodern pranksterism.
Apr 20, 2020
80
In typical Jonze fashion, the film is loose and anarchic yet deceptively well-controlled, its fourth wall always in varying states of permeability.
