39
Metascore
11 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 58The Film StageJared MobarakThe Film StageJared MobarakLibatique isn’t messing around and his involvement is proof that the movie shouldn’t be dismissed. The cinematography got my attention and Pelé’s artistry (re-enacted or not) earned my emotional investment.
- 50Movie NationRoger MooreMovie NationRoger MooreA sometimes entertaining, dazzling-on-the-field biography built around an utterly colorless lead performance.
- 50Village VoiceMichael NordineVillage VoiceMichael NordineCo-directors Jeff and Michael Zimbalist stick to the playbook throughout, from typical moments of uplift to a Pelé cameo only slightly less fan-serving than Stan Lee's Marvel spots.
- 50RogerEbert.comGlenn KennyRogerEbert.comGlenn KennyA well-meaning and sometimes interesting effort written and directed by brothers Jeff and Michael Zimbalist.
- 50Washington PostAlan ZilbermanWashington PostAlan ZilbermanPelé: Birth of a Legend is too earnest and single-minded to be hagiographic, and the final moments are moving in spite of their predictable trajectories.
- 40The New York TimesNicolas RapoldThe New York TimesNicolas RapoldThe film’s director of photography, Matthew Libatique, makes “Pelé” more than an eye-moistening anthem for a built-in global audience.
- 40The GuardianJordan HoffmanThe GuardianJordan HoffmanConsidering this is the first biopic of one of the world’s most beloved athletes, it’s too bad such a predictable and ham-fisted kids’ flick was the goal.
- 38Slant MagazineNick PriggeSlant MagazineNick PriggeThe beautiful game, as Pelé called football (or soccer to us Americans), has never felt like such a sedate slog.
- 30TheWrapRobert AbeleTheWrapRobert AbeleWho knows what Pelé: Birth of a Legend could have been had it tapped more into that mysterious life force and the true messiness in harnessing it and making it glorious. Instead we get what the man himself was canny enough to ignore: a familiar game plan tediously followed.
- 30Los Angeles TimesMichael RechtshaffenLos Angeles TimesMichael RechtshaffenThe childhood years of Brazil’s national treasure have been given a lamentably pedestrian big-screen treatment by Pelé: Birth of a Legend.