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THE LAST GLADIATORSMovie Reviews
Documentary about professional hockey enforcers, featuring the career of former Montreal Canadiens champ Chris Nilan. Cast:Chris Nilan, Tony Twist, Bob Probert, Marty McSorley, Donald Brashear, Paul Shantz, Henry Nilan, Leslie Nilan, Kim McCarthy, Craig Janney, Guy Carbonneau, Bob Gainey, Todd Ewen, Red Fisher, Serge Savard, Jimmy VesseyDirector:Alex GibneyRelease Date:February 1, 2013DVD Release:March 12, 2013From:Phase 4 FilmsRating:RLength:1 hr 34 min
MARCH 12, 2013
The Last Gladiators, Good (Not Great) Reviews (Doc) Limited
The Last Gladiators played in limited release to good not great reviews. • Colin Covert wrote in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, "...engrossing... Chris Nilan, now 55, is a likable subject and a nakedly candid one. His soul is a running wound and he exposes it to our view without shame." More Reviews Below...
The Last Gladiators Positive Reviews (8 Reviews, reviews below)
The Last Gladiators has not been reviewed by Broad National Press
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (4 Reviews)
Nicolas Rapold, New York Times: GOOD "...can at times feel like stories of fights overheard at a bar... [but] the stories shed some clarity on the game's violence, not as some vague menace, but as a fact..."(See all of Nicolas Rapold's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 406 words, 02/01/13
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: WEAK(cg) "Gibney's taken a rare misstep. There is undoubtedly a great story within the bruised history of NHL enforcers. Why, though, did he choose Chris Nilan's?"(See all of Elizabeth Weitzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 176 words, 02/01/13
Farran Smith Nehme, New York Post: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "When the film treats brawls like greatest-hits clips for more than half the movie, then suggests fighting is behind Nilan's decline, it feels like trying to have it both ways."(See all of Farran Smith Nehme's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 213 words, 02/01/13
Nick Schager, Village Voice: VERY GOOD "...gripping... Gibney celebrates hockey's fisticuff traditions while also recognizing how such brutality ultimately takes its greatest toll on those who perpetrate it."(See all of Nick Schager's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 202 words, 02/06/13
KEY CITIES (1 Review)
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: VERY GOOD(cg) "...engrossing... Chris Nilan, now 55, is a likable subject and a nakedly candid one. His soul is a running wound and he exposes it to our view without shame."(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 185 words, 02/15/13
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (2 Reviews)
Nick Schager, Village Voice: VERY GOOD "...gripping... Gibney celebrates hockey's fisticuff traditions while also recognizing how such brutality ultimately takes its greatest toll on those who perpetrate it."(See all of Nick Schager's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 202 words, 02/06/13
Kalvin Henely, Slant: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "When it keeps its focus on its subject, Alex Gibney's documentary on retired professional hockey player Chris 'Knuckles' Nilan recalls James Toback's 'Tyson'..."(See all of Kalvin Henely's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 512 words, 01/30/13
HIGHBROW PRESS (1 Review)
Nicolas Rapold, New York Times: GOOD "...can at times feel like stories of fights overheard at a bar... [but] the stories shed some clarity on the game's violence, not as some vague menace, but as a fact..."(See all of Nicolas Rapold's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 406 words, 02/01/13
MOVIE INDUSTRY (3 Reviews)
Rob Nelson, Variety: VERY GOOD "...brutal and graceful... sports a slew of archival goon-fight footage.... Gibney has done a bang-up job detailing the physical and psychological ravages of pro sportsmanship."(See all of Rob Nelson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 502 words, 09/25/11
David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter: GOOD "...sharply crafted... aims to breathe sad nobility into its portrait of the obsolete warrior unsure what to do with his fighting instincts out in the real world."(See all of David Rooney's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 657 words, 09/08/11
Nicolas Rapold, New York Times: GOOD "...can at times feel like stories of fights overheard at a bar... [but] the stories shed some clarity on the game's violence, not as some vague menace, but as a fact..."(See all of Nicolas Rapold's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 406 words, 02/01/13
12.2 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
The Last Gladiators's reviews are separated by an average 12.2 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
The Last Gladiators (8 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:The Last Gladiators's reviews cover 9.3% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 2,853 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 357 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
The Last Gladiators Coverage, Volume & Length (8 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 51 Days Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
The Last Gladiators's reviews on average broke 51 days before opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is The Last Gladiators's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
The Last Gladiators (8 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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