Synopsis
In the history of sports, few names are more recognizable than that of Evel Knievel. Long after the man hung up his famous white leather jumpsuit and rode his Harley into the sunset, his name is still synonymous with the death-defying lifestyle he led. Notoriously brash, bold, and daring, Knievel stared death in the face from the seat of his motorcycle, but few know the larger-than-life story of the boy from Butte, Montana.
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Cast
- Evel KnievelSelf (archive footage)
- Johnny KnoxvilleSelf
- George HamiltonSelf
- Travis PastranaSelf
- Mat HoffmanSelf
- Tony HawkSelf
- Krystal KnievelSelf
- Geraldo RiveraSelf
- Robbie KnievelSelf
- Tim PeriorSelf
Recommendations
- 90
Village Voice
He may not be likable, but he remains fascinating. The film is on firm ground when examining Knievel's actual measurable impact: the action/extreme sports that have flourished since his retirement. - 83
The Playlist
The documentary, like its subject, is unapologetically dazzling. - 80
Arizona Republic
There was a dark side to this complex man, and while it takes director Daniel Junge a while to get there, he does eventually in Being Evel, his entertaining and sometimes uncomfortable documentary about the daredevil. - 80
The Hollywood Reporter
Being Evel is a warts-and-all portrayal of a man whose ambition and need to be in the spotlight was both a positive and a negative. His insatiable appetites – liquor, women, attention – were parts of his personality that fueled his downfall. - 80
Los Angeles Times
The rise-and-fall trajectory of Knievel's career is colorfully captured in Daniel Junge's Being Evel, a savvy documentary that gives the granddaddy of extreme sports his due while gauging the national climate that welcomed his shrewdly timed arrival. - 75
The A.V. Club
Being Evel’s story is too plain in the telling, but it’s still incredible, and relevant in the way it shows how a person can achieve wealth and fame if he’s willing to leap way high—and to endure the inevitable wipeout. - 70
The New York Times
The movie overreaches when trying to contextualize Knievel as a hero inspiring the country after Vietnam-Watergate disillusionment. He was simply an all-American self-promoter. But Being Evel largely nails his story. - 70
Variety
An exercise in hero worship that doesn’t shy away from its subject’s least admirable traits, “Being Evel” attempts to deliver a complex portrait of a man who preferred to be seen as a self-styled myth
