75
Metascore
11 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 88Boston GlobeJoan AndermanBoston GlobeJoan AndermanMC5 is everything a rockumentary should be and usually isn't. Then again, MC5 was everything a rock band should be and usually isn't.
- 83Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanWide-ranging and beautifully edited -- it's a vivid evocation of a moment when even the ugliest guitar feedback could be taken as a serious political statement.
- 80The A.V. ClubKeith PhippsThe A.V. ClubKeith PhippsMC5's mix of showmanship, hippie idealism, and brawling Detroit muscle makes it tough to categorize, and A True Testimonial carefully moves through each step of the progression.
- 80The New York TimesA.O. ScottThe New York TimesA.O. ScottThe proto-punk warriors known as the MC5 left a dent that outlasts their mostly negligible record sales, and the director's curiosity is piqued by the group's sociological impact.
- 75San Francisco ChronicleSan Francisco ChronicleThe film is a touching, detailed portrait of an important and often overlooked band. Filmmaker David C. Thomas has done a wonderful job of stitching his filmed interviews together with the extensive vintage footage he scrounged.
- 75New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanNew York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanThomas does an excellent job exploring the incendiary environment that shaped the band in the late 1960s. His primary interest, however, is simply to express and explain the thrill the MC5 still inspires.
- 75New York PostV.A. MusettoNew York PostV.A. MusettoShould please die-hard fans as well as viewers who have never heard the band and its anthem, "Kick Out the Jams."
- 70VarietyDennis HarveyVarietyDennis HarveyDraws on extensive archival materials to etch an absorbing portrait of a singular counterculture mini-phenom that will be manna to music fans.
- 70Village VoiceLaura SinagraVillage VoiceLaura SinagraBravely bucks the "Behind the Music" arc, conveying a reality of constant flux, a sense of the band being jerked in many different directions.
- 60TV Guide MagazineKen FoxTV Guide MagazineKen FoxThe music continues to speak for itself. Play loud.