Dennis Rodman's Big Bang in PyongYang (2015) User Reviews

Dennis and the dictator

[Seth_Rogue_One · 7/10 · 3 October 2016]

Pretty entertaining documentary about Dennis Rodman's trip to North Korea which was filled with good intentions but perhaps not with the best results.

News-magazines went pretty hard at Rodman when it was revealed that he was in North Korea making friends with the country's dictator and US sworn enemy Kim Jong Un.

But he did indeed have some good intentions trying to build a bridge between the 2 countries by staging a basketball-game between the US and North Korea.

Now some of those intentions got lost after the public backlash and Rodman's ego and personal problems came in the way, but it's still a fairly engaging and interesting documentary.

Needless to say though is that there is very little footage of Kim Jong Un as he doesn't really approve of anyone, especially American journalists filming him.

But still, worth seeing.

Entertaining documentary captures a moment in history

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 30 January 2017]

BIG BANG IN PYONGYANG is a lively documentary that captures a 'moment in time' quite nicely. It involves Dennis Rodman and his idea to hold a basketball game between some retired American players (including himself) and a North Korean team in order to open up borders between the two countries. Everything doesn't go according to plan, of course, which is why it's an entertaining documentary.

Things start off on a quite ordinary level, introducing the main players and depicting the strangeness of North Korean society. I wasn't too keen on the Irish narrator but he could have been worse. I only know Rodman from his short cinematic career but he's a larger than life figure whose flaws make him likable and almost tragic in places. Things become serious in the latter part of the production as politics intervene and it gets very heated, which of course makes for a fine and naturalistic documentary. And you don't even have to like basketball to enjoy it.

Sent this drunken, trans, marble mouth to rep the U.S...

[stardogg-583-817851 · 5/10 · 5 April 2022]

How predictable was it that the all star u.s. Basketball team lost to the Korean team in front of their dictator and 5000 Koreans dressed in dark suits? Imagine what would've happened if the u.s. Team went in front of them and slaughtered them 120 - 0?

Best part is, Watching Rodman ... known for his rebellious behavior here, bowing before a *painting* of their dictator, and totally kissing his ass 😂

Highly Recommended

[sb-29 · 8/10 · 30 September 2016]

This movie is both educational and entertaining. It shows some remarkable footage from North Korea and in some ways is a lot like The Interview … except this is all for real!

Dennis Rodman comes off as both an inspirational figure and yet one who has many personal inner demons that he is struggling with.

There is a lot of crazy heavy stuff that happens in the movie which is beautifully made light of by the very cheery and eloquent Irish narrator, without whom the film could have been much more dark and maybe a bit of a mess.

The basketball matches Rodman manages to arrange and the coverage of them really hits you emotionally with regard to what he actually achieved. It was a historical event that will be remembered for a long time by all involved, and I'm so happy that the footage was captured, beautifully and allowed to be shown in this movie.

This movie leaves me thinking that engaging with the North Korean people and leadership through this kind of activity is the only way anything is ever going to change. Although for the common people the kind of change which the west is looking for, is maybe not what is good or best for them.

Apart from some of the regime's human rights and warmongering issues, it would be nice if the country were left in some kind of peaceful yet anti-globalist state.

Wow! This is one terrific documentary!

[victor-221 · 9/10 · 2 February 2016]

First, I'm shocked to be the first reviewer of this documentary. Second, this is a solid, substantial, entertaining and overall well-made documentary about Dennis Rodman's trip to North Korea to hold a basketball game between former NBA players and the North Korean team on Jan.8, 2014 for Kim Jong-un's birthday. Completely entertaining. The cameras are there for it all so we really get to see "from the inside" all that happened. And you do get to see a side of North Korea that's rarely seen. I mean their ski resort looks first-class. (too bad no one is there to actually get to use it except the party elite). The narration is spot-on, funny and keeps the documentary moving. The big question is: was this entire event a giant propaganda show for the benefit of a ruthless totalitarian dictatorship? The documentary pulls no punches but is quite fair in presenting both sides. I also give kudos the camera team who came off with some terrific shots, most notably when Rodman returns from North Korea the first time and is absolutely mobbed by the press. The camera captures every moment of what I would describe as a media riot. I love a good documentary that entertains and educates me as well as gives me something to think about. This should not be missed!

WTactualF

[a-21880 · 8/10 · 18 April 2017]

It's a truly modern saga, a strange mesh of the cult of celebrity, geopolitics and technology and the media's ability to connect disparate people all over the globe—not to mention the media's role in covering such intersections. Matt Cooper delivers the film's irony-inflected voice-over with an infectious Irish lilt that jauntily propels the narrative through its many unlikely twists and turns.