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Metascore
9 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80Village VoiceSam WeisbergVillage VoiceSam WeisbergIt will only be criticized — rightfully — for its skirting over the resulting plight of Palestinian refugees, but Grossman is surely capable of making an equally absorbing, entertaining film on that subject.
- 80Los Angeles TimesSheri LindenLos Angeles TimesSheri LindenGrossman doesn't step back for a broader, contextualizing view of the Middle East; the film contains a single comment on the 1948 war's ramifications for displaced Palestinians. But as an oral history of the pilots' experiences, it's indispensable.
- 75Movie NationRoger MooreMovie NationRoger MooreA moving and entertaining documentary about the young international volunteers who dashed to Israel in 1948 to create an Israeli Air Force.
- 75New York PostKyle SmithNew York PostKyle SmithThough somewhat marred by cheesy docudrama re-enactments, the film (produced by Steven Spielberg’s sister Nancy) is nutty, dramatic, surprising and above all inspiring.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThe Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckAbove and Beyond pays well-deserved homage to these men who helped create the Israeli Air Force and ensured the survival of the burgeoning nation. It's a wonder that it took nearly seven decades for the story to be recounted in feature documentary form.
- 70Arizona RepublicRandy CordovaArizona RepublicRandy CordovaAbove and Beyond is a straightforward, rah-rah documentary.
- 63Slant MagazineWes GreeneSlant MagazineWes GreeneIt may channel the loose, adrenaline-fueled lives of pilots, but the film's inconsistent, often impassive study of this intriguing real-life adventure feels half-told.
- 60The New York TimesBen KenigsbergThe New York TimesBen KenigsbergThese fond recollections of derring-do hail from a different era, and the movie’s one-sided view of history is bound to start arguments. The film is best appreciated as a straightforward testimonial: old war buddies’ hurrah against anti-Semitism.
- 60VarietyRonnie ScheibVarietyRonnie ScheibAbove and Beyond reps an uneasy combo of two very different kinds of documentary, one of them personalizing the past and the other “objectifying” political advocacy.