Bruce Springsteen's filmic love letter to his latest album is sweet and spellbinding, if a little contrived at times.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jun 23, 2021

Western Stars is an intimate performance with great music, lyrical soul-searching and a restless spirit that suggests Springsteen is mining his baggage to create vital, beautiful new art.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 31, 2021

It's a rockin' great time in Bruce's barn, one that leaves you feeling just that little more inspired and contented than when you first entered the cinema, proving to be as smooth and warming as a shot of mighty fine Tequila.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 28, 2020

In Western Stars, [Bruce] continues to explore his self-destructive impulses and the emotions they inspire.

| Aug 14, 2020

Western Stars is deeply invested in The Myth of Bruce Springsteen, as though he's invited the audience into his barn, but not into his heart.

| Original Score: 6/10 | Jun 19, 2020

Bruce Springsteen is THE BOSS, but this Western Stars documentary makes him a legend.

| Dec 25, 2019

Shot at [Bruce's] barn in New Jersey among friends and family, the setting is so intimate it feels you received your very own invitation.

| Dec 12, 2019

Western Stars isn't going to break the music documentary mold, and there are some interstitial segments that are honestly downright cheesy, but if you're a Springsteen fan, you should find plenty to love about it.

| Nov 13, 2019

The performance footage is mesmerising, as Springsteen articulates the intimacy of lyrics imbued with themes of a mythic West, despite sharing the stage with a full electric band and a 30-piece orchestra.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 11, 2019

We can stare at his iconic Boss pose - sturdy, bent-kneed, poised like a hood ornament into the wind... but like the music itself, it feels a little too smooth, a little too contrived and just a teensy bit cheesy to embrace on a deeply personal level.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 10, 2019

Each song is performed live in the film, and each song is set up with a short video narrated by Springsteen explaining the inspiration for each song. This movie is as much about Springsteen the man, as it is about Springsteen, the performer.

| Original Score: B | Nov 8, 2019

Boss, I never should have doubted you.

| Original Score: A- | Nov 2, 2019

A captivating musical experience brought to the screen that expresses both the nature of Bruce Springsteen and the meaning behind his album Western Stars.

| Nov 1, 2019

Who says you can't teach an old Boss new tricks?

| Nov 1, 2019

The overly scripted interludes clash with the authenticity of the show, which is plenty strong on its own.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Oct 31, 2019

It defies the parameters of cinema to create a transfixing work of exceptional elegance.

| Oct 31, 2019

It's the cutaways between songs that stitch it all together with an emotional thread that charts its subject's struggles over the decades.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Oct 29, 2019

The result is truly cherishable, especially if you're a fan, but maybe even if you're not - because it's hard not to be beguiled by Bruce's charisma, his heartfelt, melancholic meditations on life, and of course his sound.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Oct 28, 2019

A lovely film that delves deep into the history of Bruce [Springsteen], particularly his young life.

| Oct 28, 2019

The songs fit snugly in the Springsteen canon, as they're populated with the gristle of American life.

| Original Score: 8/10 | Oct 28, 2019