American filmmaker Ramin Bahrani (99 Homes) segues into documentaries without a hitch in this thoughtful, quietly expressive portrait of a quintessentially American entrepreneur.

| Sep 28, 2023

...Strongest when Bahrani focuses on the interpersonal relationships.

| Original Score: 6.5/10 | Jan 5, 2023

Who would've thought that a documentary about some bozo that invented a new bulletproof vest would be this fascinating and this unsettling?! But that's exactly why I had to watch this film and find out what it's all about and it's totally nuts!

| Original Score: 9/10 | Dec 30, 2022

A constant factor of 2nd Chance is that it was a world of denial. Bahrani is breaking away those shells. He has made a documentary that speaks truthful and beyond just a simple subject.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Dec 23, 2022

[The subject] compels you and repulses you, sometimes at the same time.

| Dec 13, 2022

Fascinating and surprisingly entertaining.

| Dec 13, 2022

There’s something irresistible about the story of the former pizza guy who invented the modern concealable bulletproof vest, and Richard Davis isn’t about to let the doubts about his origin story...

| Original Score: 3/4 | Dec 9, 2022

It is via a willingness to push beyond the headlines and discover something more about humanity that 2nd Chance reveals a deeper sense of the truth behind its scandalous story.

| Original Score: B+ | Dec 5, 2022

"For the most part, “2nd Chance” is right on target. But in the end, its aim isn’t quite true."

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Dec 5, 2022

An absolutely fascinating documentary that's as funny as it is terrifying

| Dec 2, 2022

Bahrani balances the various angles to his subject’s life story while layering it with a topical examination of gun culture and police aggression.

| Dec 2, 2022

Captivating, fascinating and ultimately enraging, but limited in scope.

| Dec 2, 2022

It's the interviews in the film’s epilogue that give this film greater depth and shading and elevate it to unexpected emotional heights.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Dec 2, 2022

Overall, “2nd Chance” is a riveting story about a confusing, disturbing, and harmful man with so much to say about both himself and America’s sins and descent into militarism as a whole.

| Original Score: 7/10 | Dec 2, 2022

A Greek tragedy and a Shakespearean comedy with a touch of “Tiger King” all expertly rolled into one all-too-pertinent cautionary tale.

| Dec 2, 2022

Beetles along without fully exploiting Davis’s ample entertainment value, which is counterbalanced by accounts of his dubious actions and sometimes unseemly opinions.

| Dec 1, 2022

Mixing hard facts, surprising humor, pure absurdity, and deeply poignant moments, Bahrani takes us on a journey into the financial ups and downs, emotional highs and lows, and often twisted mentality and ethics of Davis and his merchandise.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Nov 29, 2022

2nd Chance a terrific American tall tale as well as a cautionary tale and a ripping good yarn.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Nov 29, 2022

[Davis] is ultimately that archetypal American figure, the unflappable charlatan amassing wealth by carving breaches in the membrane separating media fantasy and political reality.

| Jun 30, 2022

An absorbing, cringey, and multidimensional look at a self-made entrepreneur.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 24, 2022