61
Metascore
5 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80Village VoiceNick SchagerVillage VoiceNick SchagerBlending archival footage and new interviews with Nilan, his family, journalists, and fellow combatants, Gibney celebrates hockey's fisticuff traditions while also recognizing how such brutality ultimately takes its greatest toll on those who perpetrate it.
- [Mr. Gibney] scales down his approach considerably here, generally for the better, rather than extrapolate a theory of violence and everything.
- 63Slant MagazineSlant MagazineMakes room for tender moments of reflection from a guy who, against impossible odds, still managed some victories, the biggest of which may be that he's still standing.
- 63New York PostFarran Smith NehmeNew York PostFarran Smith NehmeWhen The Last Gladiators treats brawls like greatest-hits clips for more than half the movie, then suggests fighting is behind Nilan's decline, it feels like trying to have it both ways.
- 40New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanNew York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanHe tells his story honestly, but with no great sense of self-awareness or insight.