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11 Reviews
86%
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100+ Ratings
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Eric Deggans
NPR
Mr. Dynamite is a fitting reminder of the singer's power and influence; the story of an artist whose rise mirrored the journey of black America from segregation to success.
Nov 27, 2019
Full Review
Joshua Alston
AV Club
Alex Gibney's Mr. Dynamite: The Rise Of James Brown is an assured threading-of-the-needle, slowly working its way to the sweet spot where the man and the legend overlap.
Rated: A-
Oct 27, 2014
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Brian Tallerico
RogerEbert.com
There's so much to the Brown story that focus becomes an issue in a film like Alex Gibney's "Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown." How do you capture the hardest working man in show business in just two hours?
Oct 27, 2014
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Benjamin H. Smith
Decider
While the 2014 documentary Mr. Dynamite: the Rise Of James Brown claims to explore Brown's beginnings in its title, it actually goes much further.
Dec 20, 2017
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Melissa Camacho
Common Sense Media
His fans will also get a kick out watching him sing, dance, and showboat as only he knew how to do. But if you don't care for the singer or his music, chances are that you'll lose interest in it before it's over.
Rated: 3/5
Nov 3, 2014
Full Review
Roger Catlin
rogercatlin.com
There's a lot see here, including the birth of funk and some candor from the band.
Oct 27, 2014
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Audience Member
Just saw this wonderful documentary on Netflix. HURRY! It expires tomorrow. Wonderful and full of memories. Have only a vague memory of the place I saw him in Broward County, FL and no idea who I was with, but I can see him singing and dancing and LOVED the show.Just saw this wonderful documentary on Netflix. HURRY! It expires tomorrow. Wonderful and full of memories. Have only a vague memory of the place I saw him in Broward County, FL and no idea who I was with, but I can see him singing and dancing and LOVED the show.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/26/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Otro gran biopic de Gibney. La historia de James Brown es increible y esta muy bien narrada a traves de la mirada del director. Yo sabia de la importancia de Mr. Brown en la historia de EUA pero creo que nos sabia ni la mitad de su gran influencia. Además de tantas cosas buenas el documental tambien muestra algunas de las cosas malas que tenia. De aquellas cosas que hay que ver...
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
01/24/23
Full Review
Audience Member
An outstanding documentary on the "Godfather of Soul (and all the other names he made up for himself)." This is not a film where all the interviewees bend and pucker to JB's backside, and reminisce on how the celebrity is the best thing since the pop-top canned beer can.
"Mr. Dynamite" is about a very driven, egotistical man, an unabashed self-promoter, a perfectionist, a control freak, a deadbeat (sometimes his band was not paid for either both live performances and studio sessions), someone who didn't' appreciate (but took credit for) the influence his musicians had on the music, and was a committer of domestic violence.
But he man instinctively understood how to play to an audience of any race color or creed.
James Brown spent his formative years in poverty. His mother left the family when he was four years old. His father left when he was six. He took refuge with an aunt, who operated a whorehouse. He sang and danced in front of the whorehouse for nickels and dimes, which people passing by would throw on the ground. He was caught stealing and sentenced eight years. The formative years can stay with a person, and he is described later in life as "lonely." He didn't trust anybody. If your mother abandons a child at four, and a father abandoned a child at six, the child might inherently not trust anyone.
The documentary also gives credit to his positive activity in the civil rights movement. On this subject, JB and others failed. What' the latest death rate by shooting in Chicago? But he tried his damnist, as he always did. JB championed picking yourself up by your bootstraps ("I don't want nobody to give me nothing/open up the door/I'll get it myself") rather than government handouts.
Despite his personal demons and other mental frailties - The man was a genius. A true original.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/25/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Whoa-great documentary!
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
02/03/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Brilliant documentary on an entertainment genius.
The story of James Brown, singer, songwriter and showman extraordinaire. From his life growing up in abject poverty, to his rise to fame and his influence on music.
Wonderfully made. Contains some rare footage of James Brown concerts and you can feel the dynamism of his performance and sheer exuberance of the show. Could there ever have been someone with a greater stage presence?
Some quite illuminating interviews from people who he worked with - former band members mostly - and people he influenced. Not your usual empty, fawning interviews but genuine, candid, well thought-out, insightful interviews with people who know what they are talking about.
Not just about the music. Shows his work for the civil rights movement and in the black community. Demonstrates well the high regard to which he was held in those groups.
Fantastic.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
01/20/23
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