Metascore
94

Universal acclaim - based on 5 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5

Critic Reviews

  1. Reviewed by: Rachael Sigee
    Dec 3, 2021
    100
    The first episode built towards that terrible night, weaving a vivid tapestry of the late 70s Black British experience, from Thatcher coming to power to the emergence of reggae to the rise of the National Front and the systemic racism of the police.
  2. Reviewed by: Carol Midgley
    Sep 16, 2021
    100
    Excellent. ... McQueen makes his documentaries come alive almost as vividly and poetically as his dramas.
  3. Reviewed by: Rebecca Nicholson
    Sep 16, 2021
    100
    It is brilliant and furious and human.
  4. Reviewed by: Sean O'Grady
    Sep 16, 2021
    100
    A moving, unblinking piece of storytelling from a brilliant director.
  5. Reviewed by: Ed Power
    Sep 16, 2021
    80
    Part of the skill of this film lay in how it contextualised the fire by looking at the racial prejudice which was on the rise in Britain. ... There was no true-crime cliché here, with McQueen and co-director James Rogan essentially creating a deeply affecting oral history.
User Score
4.5

Mixed or average reviews- based on 10 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 10
  2. Negative: 5 out of 10
  1. Nov 7, 2021
    10
    I enjoyed it, learned a lot about American history I did not know. Would recommend.
  2. Oct 19, 2021
    10
    I woudn't have known about this were it not for LKJ.

    A fascinating look back - and a look to the present - at the nature and practice of
    I woudn't have known about this were it not for LKJ.

    A fascinating look back - and a look to the present - at the nature and practice of systemic racism.
    Full Review »