Metacritic Movie Ratings
Marley Reviews

A sample of reviews from critics across the country.

• 91

  out of 100

  Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman

  Marley was directed by the gifted Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland), who shows off his chops not by doing anything dazzling - the film is documentary prose, not poetry - but by treating Marley as a man of depth and nuance, of inner light and shadow.

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• 90

  out of 100

  Village VoiceMelissa Anderson

  Thoroughly researched and packed with phenomenal archival footage, it's a rousing tribute to a mesmerizing performer that forgoes blind hero worship.

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• 90

  out of 100

  Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan

  What Marley and its wonderful performance footage leave you with most of all is the joy the man took in the music that set him free and enchanted the world.

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• 90

  out of 100

  The New York TimesStephen Holden

  Marley is a detailed, finely edited character study whose theme - Marley's bid to reconcile his divided racial legacy - defined his music and his life.

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• 90

  out of 100

  The Hollywood Reporter

  Marley is sure to become the definitive documentary on the much beloved king of reggae.

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• 88

  out of 100

  Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert

  Marley, an ambitious and comprehensive film, does what is probably the best possible job of documenting an important life.

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• 88

  out of 100

  USA TodayScott Bowles

  Sprinkled with riffs, concert footage and home videos, the family-authorized documentary does what the artist usually did: When in doubt, return to the beat.

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• 80

  out of 100

  Variety

  Kevin Macdonald's generous, absorbing, family-authorized documentary on the late, still-reigning king of reggae music.

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• 80

  out of 100

  Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern

  The director, Kevin Macdonald, searches for clarity amid the contradictions of Marley's life and reaches no conclusions, but that's a tribute to his subject's complexity in a film of fascinating too-muchness.

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• 80

  out of 100

  The New YorkerAnthony Lane

  Inspiring though Marley is, however, it tends to deploy his music purely as an illustration of his life. Not once, as far as I could tell, do we watch a song being played straight through from beginning to end. [23 April 2012, p.82]

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