Beyoncé Netflix movie reviews: Homecoming is 'joyful' – what do critics have to say?

Netflix has given the fans what they didn’t even know they needed, a Beyoncé documentary. The movie was released today to Netflix, and Beyoncé dropped a surprise album to go along with it. Beyoncé’s fans, who are amongst the most zealous fans out there, have responded with delight to the movie.

What do critics say about Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé?

The documentary has no Rotten Tomatoes critics consensus, nor score, as of yet.

Metacritic gives Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé a score of 80 based on four reviews so far.

The film is a behind the scenes exploration of Beyoncé’s 2018 Coachella performance.

The movie boasts promises interviews, behind-the-scenes footage and information about the creation of her concept.

Robyn Bahr for The Hollywood Reporter:

Homecoming is the apotheosis of this artistic transformation from pop queen to political actor.

While Homecoming’s own intimacy is shallower, with its narrative dominated by the two Coachella performances interspersed with ‘artistically’ filtered black-and-white shots of the show’s months-long rehearsal process, Beyoncé’s vulnerability is apparent.

Chris Willman for Variety:

The superstar’s concert movie provides a euphoric experience.

If you thought that the Beyoncé who doesn’t give any interviews anymore is going to open up in hugely unexpected ways just because she’s interviewing herself, you’ve underestimated her line-drawing resolve.

Aisha Harris for the New York Times:

It’s Beyoncé exactly as she wants us to see her and has always wanted us to see her: as a perfectionist, and as the hardest-working person in show business

The “intimate” and “candid” moments touted by Netflix are brief in comparison, appearing between long, uninterrupted musical segments from the show.

Those moments will be enough to satisfy the overzealous Beyhive (though what Beyoncé-related content doesn’t satisfy the Beyhive?) and probably more casual fans and admirers, too.

Arianna Davis for The Oprah Magazine:

Beyoncé’s Homecoming is an ode to black culture that will inspire you to push yourself.

Dino-Ray Ramos for Deadline:

Watching Homecoming is like watching the Coachella performance from last year all over again, but with an incredible amount of depth.

The documentary felt like the end of this gorgeous journey she was taking us on that arguably began with her HBO special Life is But a Dream which was released in 2016.

Gregory Ellwood for The Playlist:

Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé is absolutely at its best when it chronicles the performances from those two nights.

The rest is a tease into the private life Beyoncé has cultivated since the group that launched her to stardom, Destiny’s Child, disbanded in 2006.

Gerrick D. Kennedy for the LA Times:

Beyoncé is at her most vulnerable when she’s juggling the rigours of building a performance of this scale with motherhood, but the tension in the film comes from her commitment to perfection in her craft.

Every artistic decision is made by her, and her only — not that it comes as a surprise, particularly for those who can recall the famous clip of her detailing to a lighting director why a particular hue of blue would never work for black skin.

Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé is available to stream now on Netflix.