DEVO

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DEVO

2024

1h 35m

Documentary

Music

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

85%

Tomatometer

26 Reviews

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Directed by Chris Smith (American Movie, Fyre), the documentary is an in-depth, definitive look at DEVO's story, tracing how the group's origins at Kent State during a time of political upheaval shaped their radical philosophy of "de-evolution." Combining rare archival footage, interviews, and an unflinching look at the band's artistic and cultural impact, the documentary captures DEVO's rise, offering a timely reflection on art, rebellion, and the power of subversion in pop culture.

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Odie Henderson

Boston Globe

This entertaining and informative documentary just might make you a fan as well.

Rated: 3.5/4

Aug 22, 2025

Full Review

Sam Adams

Slate

It’s about as comprehensive as a brief history of a band’s 50-year career can be.

Aug 20, 2025

Full Review

Matt Zoller Seitz

RogerEbert.com

Devo’s songs now feel like prophecies set to music. That’s cold comfort to the founders, who called it like they saw it but hoped they were wrong.

Rated: 3.5/4

Aug 19, 2025

Full Review

Michael Talbot-Haynes

Film Threat

Whether you have or have not, see Devo as soon as possible. It will just take a few seconds to catch a craze that will last until the sound itself stops.

Rated: 10/10

Sep 2, 2025

Full Review

Dennis Harvey

48 Hills

If "American Movie" director Smith leaves you wanting still more, that’s not a bad thing. One revelation here is that the members, while they stuck to their worker-drone personae onstage, were always intelligent and articulate when interviewed.

Aug 22, 2025

Full Review

Ezequiel Boetti

Otroscines.com

While it wholeheartedly subscribes to its members' theory that they were martyrs of the system, DEVO succeeds in imposing a lighthearted tone very similar to the one the band infused into their work. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 3.5/5

Aug 22, 2025

Full Review

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Chris H

Endlessly interesting and the members of the band are engaging and articulate. I considered myself a fan and have owned several records, but I was mortified to learn from this documentary that they meant it all - I thought the de-evolution thing was a joke. I'd never seen any of their videos, never seen them interviewed and didn't know they had been triggered by the Kent State shootings. This really shed new light on everything. Guys, I apologise. The band themselves mention that they became part of what they were satirising; maybe they still are, as Mark Mothersbaugh is writing music for big budget films. Do we care though? In a word, no; it was inevitable.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

09/16/25

Full Review

Vincent S.

Fans of the band will love this. I learned a lot.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

09/07/25

Full Review

Craig B

TL/DR: DEVO’s predictions came painfully true. Or… Never has a music documentary been so successful at revealing the uncomfortable truth that artists that dissect the very thing they are bringing to life inevitably fall victim to the notion of success. Its like watching Dr Frankenstein build his monster whilst acknowledging it can only end up one way rather than fooling himself. DEVO - the ultimate nominative deterministically named band of all time. p.s. The documentary/film is superbly constructed,

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/06/25

Full Review

John B

Excellent exposition of who Devo really were. Perhaps the most misunderstood band ever. But, yet, they became famous and then devolved, as they, themselves, predicted, into what people thought they were. Great band with a message and great documentary.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/03/25

Full Review

L S

I have been a fan for years! It was a good documentary but would have been better as a movie!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/02/25

Full Review

Angelo R

Very interesting to see where and when the band began. The Kent State in 1970 witnessing the massacre. Which led them to the theory of Devolution. Watching their journey to becoming a punk band like no other and the struggle to get people to understand their mission.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

09/01/25

Full Review

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Chris Smith

Director

Mark Mothersbaugh

Self

Bob Casale

Self

Gerald V. Casale

Self

DEVO

Self

Danny Gabai

Producer

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Synopsis

Directed by Chris Smith (American Movie, Fyre), the documentary is an in-depth, definitive look at DEVO's story, tracing how the group's origins at Kent State during a time of political upheaval shaped their radical philosophy of "de-evolution." Combining rare archival footage, interviews, and an unflinching look at the band's artistic and cultural impact, the documentary captures DEVO's rise, offering a timely reflection on art, rebellion, and the power of subversion in pop culture.

Director: Chris Smith
Producer: Danny Gabai, Chris Holmes, Anita Greenspan, David C. McCourt
Distributor: Netflix
Production Co: Fremantle
Genre: Documentary, Music
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 19, 2025
Runtime: 1h 35m

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