476 Best Documentary Movies to Watch (Page 30)

Attempting to be both a serious, well-researched documentary and a serious, hard-hitting drama is nothing new. Many shows on educational channels like History have long employed skilled actors and directors to elevate their reenactments. But Netflix’s Alexander: The Making of a God doesn’t seem to know where (or when) to draw the line. There is no tonal balance, no tasteful blending of the two; instead, drama and docu are smushed into one incoherent mess. And that’s a shame because, on their own, they could have been worthwhile. The production value and acting that goes into the drama have enough heft to carry it through, while the history and research (though not the strongest) are engaging enough to whet our appetite for learning more. But as they stand, these mixed genres only distract us from appreciating either. 

Genre: Documentary, Drama

Actor: Agni Scott, Alain Ali Washnevsky, Buck Braithwaite, Christopher Sciueref, Dino Kelly, Jadran Malkovich, James Oliver Wheatley, Kosha Engler, Mido Hamada, Mohamed Attougui, Salima Ikram, Souad Faress, Steven Hartley, Waleed Elgadi, Will Stevens

Director: Hugh Ballantyne

Rating: TV-MA

As impressive as Vasco Rossi’s life was, it’s hard to connect to someone you haven’t heard of, which is probably why this docuseries is best seen by die-hard music fans alone. The series takes its time to introduce Rossi and explain his impact on Italian music, but even then, it can seem like something you’ve seen before. The documentary shies away from the cultural specificities and nuances that make Rossi the singular musician that he is, attempting instead to generalize his life into clear-cut sections as if it were a book. Even with Rossi present and narrating many parts of the series, it still lacks the ruggedness and spikiness that made Rossi’s music burst with relevance in the late 20th century. There is a sense that the filmmakers created this series with an international audience in mind, but by making his story as general and universal as possible, they might have inadvertently diluted Rossi’s power.

Genre: Documentary

Actor: Vasco Rossi

Rating: TV-MA

Whether or not one is a fan of auto racing, a documentary series like NASCAR: Full Speed manages to stay exciting simply due to the extreme nature of the sport. It isn't just a highlight reel of wipeouts and close calls, of course, but the insights we get into how complex (and expensive) racing is—and how much these racers have put on the line for themselves—increases the tension in every lap. Still, there's a sense that Full Speed is only sticking to the stories and personalities we expect to see in this kind of show. And like many other sports docs, it can't help but begin to go through the usual motions, becoming more like white noise punctuated by bursts of thrilling action.

Genre: Documentary

Actor: Bubba Wallace, Denny Hamlin, Ross Chastain, Ryan Blaney, William Byron

Rating: TV-MA

More a recounting of the matches and key moments of the 2023 Six Nations season (albeit from a more personal point of view) than a more analytical documentary series, Full Contact nevertheless delivers where it matters most. By never privileging one team's experience over another, the series establishes a different set of stakes for every match, and helps even non-rugby fans get the gist of what each national team was working towards or against during their respective runs. This is still a show that should hold more value for rugby diehards than casual viewers, of course, but it should be a reasonable enough diversion for anybody curious.

Genre: Documentary, Reality

Actor: Dan Biggar, Ellis Genge, Freddie Steward, Marcus Smith, Stephen Varney

Rating: TV-MA

Created in 2021, Overtime Elite (OTE) is a basketball league that offers players aged 16 to 20 a new way to play pro ball. Instead of waiting four years after graduating from high school, or entering college as most hopefuls do, young athletes can choose to play immediately with OTE and earn their keep. All the while, they’re housed, educated, fed, salaried, and given a chance to play for NBA scouts. If this is starting to sound like an ad for OTE, that’s because that’s how this six-part miniseries from Amazon Prime mostly plays out. It’s an impressive facility and training ground to be sure, filled with budding basketball stars and watchable reality-show-like drama, but it often feels like an infomercial instead of a truly gripping docuseries. I wish it explained the need to create OTE, what role it plays in the current landscape, and how it can possibly change the rules of playing ball in the US. I also found myself wanting to know more about the backers of the league—who funded it, why, and what future they see with it. Adding more historical context and speculation could’ve deepened the impact of this series. But as it stands, it’s an okay feature for the young athletes. It gives them their 15 minutes of fame and boasts their impressive physicality, even though it intercuts them with commercials.

Genre: Documentary

Actor: Amen Thompson, Ausar Thompson, Eli Ellis

To give credit to this three-episode documentary series, it succeeds in presenting a dynamic, three-dimensional portrait of '80s hair metal beyond the scene's glamour, guitar solos, and yes, all that hair. And it's certainly interesting to think about such lively, over-the-top music and visual aesthetics from the perspective of musicians and executives who struggled in the sidelines for so long, or who were only ever seen as replacement artists or female versions of more popular bands. But aside from a number of enlightening stories (mostly from Vixen vocalist Janet Gardner and record exec Vicky Hamilton), the series is just too simplistic and conventional an oral history that also never establishes the foundation of what hair metal is in the first place, and how the genre is unique from other styles of metal. It feels like the story of any other genre of music, which it absolutely shouldn't be.

Genre: Documentary, Music

Actor: Dave 'The Snake' Sabo, Dee Snider, Janet Gardner, John Corabi, Kip Winger, Vicky Hamilton, Wayne Isham

Today's comic book industry and cinematic universes are inextricable from popular culture, but the road to global recognition was long and arduous. Superpowered: The DC Story chronicles a fraction of that journey including the quiet beginnings of the publishing house as Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster's response to being bullied, all the way to the risky investments in film and TV adaptations and championing diverse voices. The three-part series delves into the  "holy trinity" (Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman) and how the cultural phenomenon of comics evolved over the years. Every era summarizes how DC creators had to overcome rigid executives, competing publishers like Marvel, and the highs and lows of relevancy in the ever-changing consumer market. With contributions from creators, innovators, directors, and actors, the attention to the politics of media and the call for diversity round out the somewhat-insightful and fan-sustained life of the DC universe. 

Genre: Documentary

Actor: Rosario Dawson

Rating: TV-14

 If you’re expecting a story about sportsmanship, athleticism, camaraderie, and community, you won’t get a lot of that in We Are Newcastle United, a docuseries that is more interested in business than in football. It begins with the Saudi Public Investment Fund’s takeover of the club, reportedly the most expensive purchase in the football world, and firmly stays in that angle throughout the series. Never mind that Newcastle United has a formidable set of players, a loyal community of fans, and one of the most inspiring underdog journeys in football history—the documentary only touches on those rich topics. Instead, its main focus is the PIF and the technical details of their ownership. How much did they spend to secure the top players? What does the Saudi state hope to gain out of this acquisition? Is Newcastle United complicit in Saudi Arabia’s alleged breach of human rights? We Are Newcastle United has some insightful takes, but for the filmmakers to bill it as a sports feature feels like false advertising. Like the club’s owners, they put financials first before football, not the other way around. 

Genre: Documentary

Actor: Alan Shearer, Amanda Staveley, Callum Wilson, Eddie Howe, Mehrdad Ghodoussi, Yasir Al Rumayyan

Director: Jack Wood