Beastie Boys Story

Beastie Boys was a MAJOR part of my childhood and early teenage years, this documentary brought back many great memories. So many great photos and great clips, charmingly narrated and super entertaining. I guess its fair to say that Adam Yauch was somewhat of a pioneer for the DIY / creative director / designer thing in hiphop found in current acts like A$AP Ferg etc. Admirable how they stayed at it and stayed friends through all the years while making great music and challenging themselves and exploring their sound all along. 10/10

I was only a casual fan of the Boys when I was a kid, but loved watching the bands journey & how they evolved. What they went through & how they changed to stay successful was awesome. The raw emotion at the end makes the movie!!

There are so many negative reviews, I need to balance it out. Some of the reviews miss the big picture. Yes, it is a live narration in front of an audience. Is it unusual? Yes, it is and may have generated some people to feel a certain way about it vs a traditional documentary. But it was put out by artists and is the way the artists wanted to present their story, this is the whole purpose of art in the end; creativity and evoking emotion. Also, because it is live does not mean it was supposed to be "unscripted", nor do the Beastie Boys pretend that it is, they mention the teleprompters several times and even pan to them at one point. I enjoyed the live "living history" feel of the documentary. I didn't feel like it was contrived or egocentric.

As far as the content, it is the history of the band. They didn't delve into the personal lives of the band members but told the story of their friendship and the band's history. Diamond and Horovitz don't avoid, or hide their past, they address it. It's part of the story, they grew as musicians, they grew as humans. There is one recurring theme, Adam Yauch was the moral compass of the group, the creative force, and the strength that held them all together.

This is a quintessentially Beastie Boys moment. Doing a documentary their own way just like they did it with music. Always creating something new. This is story telling, an opportunity to walk back in time with these artists as they guide us through a journey from their perspective. An ode to MCA. An adventure that's worth the ride. I laughed out loud. I cried out loud. I got up and danced. I fell in love again. Thank you.

Although this made me feel really old, I liked that the remaining members acted their age and didn't embarrass themselves by pretending to be 22 again. This was a genuine attempt to be honest and tell an amazing story with humour and emotion. The music will always sound fresh and original. It also seems to serve as a tribute to Adam Yauch and its obvious how much he was pivotal to the bands creation.