Hired Gun

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Pete B This doc should have been awesome—it’s about the session musicians who play behind huge artists, and these guys definitely deserve more credit. But somehow, the whole thing comes off as whiny and disjointed. Instead of diving deep into their skill and contributions, it mostly turns into a sob story about how famous people don’t pay them enough respect. The editing is weird, the storytelling is all over the place, and by the end, you just feel like you sat through a really long complaint session. Rated 1.5/5 Stars •  Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 03/25/25 Full Review Audience Member Pretty cool to get the unsung heroes perspective on their contributions to A list artists albums and live performances. However, the documentary as a whole didn’t flow well from one segment to the next. I drum for a few bands so I know what it’s like with the highs and lows. Alice Cooper is a really cool dude and Nita Strauss is amazing. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 04/13/24 Full Review Mats B Had been so much better if they had cut out Ray Parker Jr who got famous by doing a rip-off of "I want a new drug" by Huey Lewis and the News, when he wrote the title track to Ghostbusters. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/28/24 Full Review júlio a Bem legal, se aprofundasse mais em algumas partes, e onde estão todos os músicos citados, seria mais legal ainda. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Interesting documentary on rock music's unsung heroes. A documentary on the nameless musicians behind the stars - the people in the touring and/or studio bands of major stars. Shows the highs and lows, the pros and cons, how some of them got where they are and their lives as hired guns. An interesting documentary on rock music's unsung heroes. For every famous, successful artist there's dozens of musicians who played on studio albums or performed in the bands of the famous artist, with little to no recognition. This documentary does a good job of empathising with and highlighting the skills, trials and tribulations of the sideman. Wasn't always that promising though: started off pretty dully, with a heap of (largely metal) musicians trying to out cheerlead each other. The first bit focuses mostly on how they got their big break and while there are some really interesting, even historic moments (e.g. the guitar solo on Steely Dan's 'Peg" and the drum fill on John Cougar Mellencamp's 'Jack and Diane'), involved it just seems pretty conventional. Moreover, you feel like you've seen this before - '20 Feet From Stardom' and 'Standing In The Shadows Of Motown' already covered the life and influence of backing musicians. However, in the second half it gets really interesting and engaging. Now we see what touring life is like and how expendable these musicians are. It's quite sad how they are treated and how things turn out for some of them. The latter half also shows why, despite the insecurity and treatment, these guys still do what they do - the love of music. This leaves the ultimate note a positive one. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/20/23 Full Review Audience Member 'Hired Gun' is a disjointed, but decent documentary that highlights the careers of a few well-established studio musicians who worked their way up to join some of the most iconic bands like Alice Cooper, Billy Joel, Ozzy Osbourne, and Five Finger Death Punch. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/15/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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