87
Metascore
35 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Christian Science MonitorDavid SterrittChristian Science MonitorDavid SterrittBrilliant, poetic, and utterly unique.
- 100PremiereGlenn KennyPremiereGlenn KennyHerzog not only tells an incredible story but implies a dark metaphysic of the natural world that makes this film unsettlingly larger than its human subject.
- 100The New YorkerDavid DenbyThe New YorkerDavid DenbyA brilliant documentary about an American saint and fool--a man who understands everything about nature except death.
- 100VarietyScott FoundasVarietyScott FoundasA brilliant portrait of adventure, activism, obsession and potential madness that ranks among helmer Werner Herzog's strongest work.
- 91Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumEntertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumA mesmerizing work of disturbing power and unease.
- 90Village VoiceMichael AtkinsonVillage VoiceMichael AtkinsonFor many the question remains about how Treadwell's eventual death should be regarded--as a tragedy, as a fool's fate, or as comeuppance for daring to humanize wild predators and habituating them to human presence. Herzog's perspective is, of course, scrupulously nonjudgmental.
- 88Rolling StonePeter TraversRolling StonePeter TraversHerzog conducts his own expedition into knowing the unknowable -- the true task of any filmmaker. Herzog makes it an art.
- 88ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliActually three movies in one: a wildlife film about how grizzly bears behave in their natural habitat, a character study of an eccentric environmentalist, and a chilling, voyeuristic narrative of how death stalks that man.
- 80The A.V. ClubKeith PhippsThe A.V. ClubKeith PhippsHerzog is still the only person who could have made Grizzly Man. His admiration for Treadwell has its limits, but he understands, better than most directors, what it means to follow dreams into the belly of the beast.
- 70Film ThreatPete Vonder HaarFilm ThreatPete Vonder HaarThe results are by turns fascinating, horrifying, and maddening.