It Might Get Loud
Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: August 14, 2009 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
70
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 27 Critic Reviews
Positive:
21
Mixed:
5
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
The Hollywood ReporterJustin Lowe
It Might Get Loud offers a thrilling personal tour of three exceptional electric guitarists' careers that's equally appealing to musicians and rock enthusiasts alike. Read full review
100
VarietyJohn Anderson
Musically and visually sumptuous. Read full review
100
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
A marvelous rock doc that manages to be wistful, tasty, and jam-kicking at the same time. Read full review
100
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
You'll never see a more tactile expression of the intimacy between artists and their instruments than in Davis Guggenheim's elating It Might Get Loud. Read full review
90
Village VoiceRobert Wilonsky
It's Page, a joyful instructor and natural storyteller, who steals the spotlight (Robert who? More, please.) Only real complaint: The movie's not loud enough. They should have turned that f***er up to 11. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesBetsy Sharkey
In nearly every moment, an incredibly rich mix of their music, groundbreaking, defining, which alone would almost be enough. That It Might Get Loud comes with a righteous story too is a lovely bonus. Read full review
88
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Does this sound like rock heaven? It is. Read full review
88
St. Louis Post-DispatchKevin C. Johnson
Davis Guggenheim, the St. Louis director who won an Oscar for "An Inconvenient Truth," mines less controversial material this time around. Read full review
83
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
Each man has his own distinctive style, and yet when they jam together it sounds like the most natural thing in the world. Read full review
80
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
For rock geeks of any age or taste, the lore in this documentary will be catnip. Read full review
75
USA TodayClaudia Puig
It's a pleasure to watch these men perform. These are real-life guitar heroes. But it would have been a treat to see more of them talking shop. Read full review
75
NPRMark Jenkins
The moments when the guitarists teach the others their best-known riffs are fascinating. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
With varying degrees of success, the filmmaker gets each musician to talk about the personal and musical roots that blossomed into his technique. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
The best parts of It Might Get Loud, though, occur when Guggenheim visits with the musicians one on one. Read full review
75
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike Scott
Brilliant in its simplicity, as he turns the floor over to the three masters with this simple instruction: The guitar. Discuss. Read full review
70
Film ThreatK.J. Doughton
White and The Edge appear guarded, and perhaps a bit intimidated, by Page’s Yoda-like status. Read full review
70
Washington PostJohn Anderson
One needn't have a Stratocaster moldering in the closet at home to get a kick out of It Might Get Loud. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubSam Adams
The resulting jam session ought to be a music geek’s wet dream, but there isn’t enough common ground to produce more than a few flashes of inspiration. Read full review
67
Portland OregonianStan Hall
Feels like an iffy concept album with some great singles. Read full review
63
New York PostKyle Smith
For rock fans, hearing many Led Zeppelin and U2 classics on a theater sound system is worth the price of a ticket. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
As documentary, it’s low concept. But it’s never dull. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
Few of the parts harmonize ­properly, leaving us with provocative fragments rather than an electrifying whole. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
Why isn’t the film better? Guggenheim doesn’t seem to have prodded his subjects in any interesting directions. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
The strain to pull all this together becomes more evident as the movie progresses, and the three-way musical finale, a rickety acoustic run-through of “The Weight,” hardly lives up to the stars’ reputations. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
The trouble is, once you get past the historical information and chummy interviews, you have to put up with the inevitable risk of any ad-hoc jam session: It Might Get Boring. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
The film's very title is a tease, however: It never gets all that loud, and you might doze off after 30 minutes of watching this unwieldy power trio recount their formative years and visit old haunts before heading on to a soundstage for their minimum rock & roll "summit." Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
An empty exercise. Read full review
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