- Network: ESPN
- Series Premiere Date: May 30, 2023
Critic Reviews
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There was nothing quite like American Gladiators in its prime, and The American Gladiators Documentary captures the magic, weirdness and spectacle of it all in an entertaining and nostalgic package.
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Director Benjamin Berman turns what was widely derided as barbaric spectacle into fodder for postmodern tragicomedy. This is a witty, mischievous, inventive but ultimately quite sad work, a worthy entry in ESPN’s enduring and consistently intelligent doc series.
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Though I was never less than engaged with The American Gladiator Documentary at its three-plus-hour length, I wonder if I might have been more willing to embrace the approach if it had been 90 minutes without a destination instead.
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This second part — which includes dramatic re-creations of Carr’s unpublished memoir — is so much more engaging than Part 1 that it’s a shame viewers have to wait nearly 90 minutes to see it. Despite its flaws, threaded throughout this ungainly film is a dramatic and at times moving tale about people trying very hard not to be the villains in anyone’s hero narrative.