Being Evel
Gravitas Ventures | Release Date: August 21, 2015 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
72
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 13 Critic Reviews
Positive:
12
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlAug 18, 2015
He may not be likable, but he remains fascinating. The film is on firm ground when examining Knievel's actual measurable impact: the action/extreme sports that have flourished since his retirement. Read full review
83
The PlaylistDrew TaylorAug 19, 2015
The documentary, like its subject, is unapologetically dazzling. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesMichael RechtshaffenAug 20, 2015
The rise-and-fall trajectory of Knievel's career is colorfully captured in Daniel Junge's Being Evel, a savvy documentary that gives the granddaddy of extreme sports his due while gauging the national climate that welcomed his shrewdly timed arrival. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzAug 20, 2015
There was a dark side to this complex man, and while it takes director Daniel Junge a while to get there, he does eventually in Being Evel, his entertaining and sometimes uncomfortable documentary about the daredevil. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterDuane ByrgeAug 20, 2015
Being Evel is a warts-and-all portrayal of a man whose ambition and need to be in the spotlight was both a positive and a negative. His insatiable appetites – liquor, women, attention – were parts of his personality that fueled his downfall. Read full review
75
Movie NationRoger MooreAug 21, 2015
A warts-and-all documentary about the daredevil-hustler, that for all its inherent evil — and the guy was a real piece of work — is still a joyous, laugh-out-loud celebration of an outlandish, larger-than-life showman. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayAug 20, 2015
Being Evel’s story is too plain in the telling, but it’s still incredible, and relevant in the way it shows how a person can achieve wealth and fame if he’s willing to leap way high—and to endure the inevitable wipeout. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriAug 24, 2015
“He’s probably the only man in history who has become famous for trying to kill himself,” says Johnny Carson as he introduces Knievel in a clip from The Tonight Show. As the film makes clear, Evel often bore out that tension in his acts, and it slowly, subtly ate away at him. Read full review
70
VarietyGeoff BerkshireAug 20, 2015
An exercise in hero worship that doesn’t shy away from its subject’s least admirable traits, “Being Evel” attempts to deliver a complex portrait of a man who preferred to be seen as a self-styled myth Read full review
70
The New York TimesAndy WebsterAug 20, 2015
The movie overreaches when trying to contextualize Knievel as a hero inspiring the country after Vietnam-Watergate disillusionment. He was simply an all-American self-promoter. But Being Evel largely nails his story. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovAug 19, 2015
Junge’s ridiculously entertaining documentary includes a wealth of archival clips that still, after all these years, make you wince. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comGlenn KennyAug 21, 2015
The movie is certainly colorful — this is a guy who, when he had it made, lived VERY large, even if he continued on what seemed like a quest to break every bone in his body multiple times. And it tells, as it keeps reminding us, a very American story. For all that, though, it doesn’t illuminate the guy’s character beyond what’s obvious. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierAug 20, 2015
Those who came of age during Knievel’s rise, rise and fall will enjoy the fun moments. But this family-sanctioned film comes up short in terms of objectivity. Read full review
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