Metacritic Movie Ratings
American Hardcore Reviews

A sample of reviews from critics across the country.

• 90

  out of 100

  VarietyDennis Harvey

  Excellent documentary American Hardcore chronicles the short-lived but influential musical moment when a defiantly anti-commercial underground put a distinctive U.S. stamp on the hitherto Brit-driven punk movement.

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• 75

  out of 100

  Entertainment Weekly

  Illuminating nostalgia, stuffed with all the right tattooed talking heads (like Black Flag's Henry Rollins), plus grim-looking concert footage of wailing skinny guys.

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• 70

  out of 100

  Los Angeles Times

  The documentary is an enlightening journey to a dark corner of contemporary punk's dank little basement. It also will surprise some to hear how articulately some of the former performers explain the dark impulses that propelled them.

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• 70

  out of 100

  The New York TimesStephen Holden

  A toned-down cinematic equivalent of the music: fast and loud, but not too loud. The movie scrambles to cover so much territory that there is room only for musical shards and slivers; few complete songs are heard, and no signature anthems stand out.

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