Whatever the frustrations of this film, it is full of glorious archive footage of its subject playing football in his prime, which alone makes it well worth watching.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jan 16, 2025

Once you get past the film’s refusal to dive into some of the pertinent areas the way it probably should, it is still a pleasurable experience as a gateway into learning more about Pelé and Brazil.

| Original Score: B | May 2, 2023

Pelé is not a football documentary. It is the tale of one man and one nation, presented gloriously...So much of the history of Brazil is told all through the actions of a remarkable individual.

| Original Score: 10/10 | Jan 16, 2023

Perhaps the most striking element of this piece is that it shows Pelé on the field, a key player in times when games weren't televised. [Full review in Spanish]

| Original Score: 7/10 | Jan 3, 2023

Pelé seems to be an attempt to officially celebrate his life while he is here to talk about it. There won't be any shocking revelations for film fans, but it does explore the pressures of having a nation's hopes at your feet.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 1, 2022

Watching a film celebrating an athlete who... gave cover to a brutal dictatorship feels unsettling, even if that film goes after the question about... his responsibility

| Jun 26, 2021

Do I wish that "Pele" had gone a little deeper? Yes...winning those three championships (still the only man to do it) - it was superhuman. Had we been able to get more of the merely human Pele, this documentary might have reached a greatness of its own.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Mar 8, 2021

As it paints an honest portrait of the complex relationship between sports and politics in Brazil, Pelé suggests that the star transcended both.

| Mar 5, 2021

Pelé, the documentary, leaves us wanting more football... Otherwise, the documentary is inspiring and extremely moving. [Full review in Spanish]

| Mar 4, 2021

You'll be hard-pressed to find a subject as enthralling, human, or intrinsically linked to their culture and country as Pelé, and this documentary is a fitting tribute to that legacy.

| Mar 1, 2021

Pelé's contradictions are fascinating.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 1, 2021

Nicholas and Tryhorn's new film for Netflix, though plenty laudatory, presents a contemplative Pelé that appears human after all

| Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 26, 2021

A fitting tribute to both the man and the myth, unwilling to turn a blind eye to his shortcomings and yet perceptive enough to recognize that his failings were secondary to his athletic brilliance.

| Feb 26, 2021

Why the filmmakers couldn't get any vivid recollections out of Pelé, sitting in front of them, is anyone's guess.

| Feb 25, 2021

[Pelé's] story isn't as compellingly told as it could be and directors Ben Nicholas and David Tryhorn's efforts to examine the political turmoil of the era doesn't quite come off.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 25, 2021

The movie wanders into fascinating, uneasy areas.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 24, 2021

Pelé is a terrific examination of the player, the man, and his status in recent Brazilian history.

| Feb 24, 2021

As it's been said, what Pelé says matters less than what he did on a soccer field. And this documentary is faithful testimony of that. [Full review in Spanish]

| Feb 24, 2021

A worthy look at one of the few athletes who could lay claim to the title of The Greatest Of All Time.

| Feb 24, 2021

As a tightly focused look at one man's influence and dominance of a global game for more than a decade, Pele is a more than entertaining watch.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Feb 23, 2021