--- title: "Navalny: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/navalny/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/navalny" critics_score: 77 critics_reviews: 19 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Navalny (2022): what the critics said Critics' score 77 from 19 reviews: 13 positive, 6 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics respond warmly to Navalny, with praise clustering around its close access to its subject and the suspense of the poisoning investigation. The reviews repeatedly describe a documentary that moves like a thriller, singling out a recorded phone call as its most tense sequence. Navalny’s charisma and courage also draw praise, while several critics find the film humane as well as gripping. Even more reserved assessments acknowledge how effectively it holds attention. The main reservation concerns how little space the film gives Navalny’s earlier life and political history. That concern appears in enthusiastic reviews too, though critics differ over how much it matters. Sight and Sound offers the sharpest dissent, challenging the buoyant framing of his political struggle as well as the missing context. The New Yorker raises a different doubt: whether the film’s revelations can reach beyond a sympathetic Western audience. The spread is broad, despite substantial agreement about the suspense. ## Radio Times — Caroline Frost Rating 5/5. Frost presents the documentary as a fascinating portrait of a courageous, charismatic subject. She praises Navalny’s efforts to uncover the poisoning plot, while noting gaps in the account of his history. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-czbu67/navalny/) ## Empire — John Nugent Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 14 April 2022. Nugent calls the documentary an urgent, searing account that feels especially timely. He praises its exceptional access, particularly the sequence in which Navalny tricks a suspected poisoner into describing the operation. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/navalny/) ## Variety — Owen Gleiberman Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 25 January 2022. Festival review. Gleiberman calls the documentary a must-see, stirring account of Navalny’s courage and resistance to authoritarian rule. He especially praises the suspenseful investigation that leads to Navalny’s recorded phone confession from one of the poisoning plotters. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2022/film/reviews/navalny-review-alexei-navalny-vladimir-putin-1235163437/) ## The i Paper — Christina Newland Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 12 April 2022. Newland finds the documentary gripping, disturbing and humane, and calls it unmissable. She especially praises Navalny’s screen presence, which makes the film immediately compelling. [Read the review](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/navalny-review-alexei-unmissable-portrait-of-putins-rival-1571222) ## Los Angeles Times — Justin Chang Fi1m's normalised score 82/100 (inferred from the text). 11 April 2022. Chang finds the documentary gripping and sharply assembled, while noting its uneasy mix of timeliness and escapism. He especially praises the electrifying scene in which Navalny tricks an alleged poisoning operative into revealing incriminating details. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2022-04-11/alexei-navalny-review-documentary-putin-russia) ## The Guardian — Adrian Horton Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 27 January 2022. Festival review. Horton finds the documentary riveting and damning, while noting it skims over thorny context about Navalny’s political history. She praises the jaw-dropping prank call that exposes details of the poisoning plot. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/jan/27/navalny-review-shocking-documentary-of-a-russian-poisoning) ## Time Out — Phil de Semlyen Rating 4/5. 28 January 2022. The critic calls the documentary ridiculously gripping and essential. They single out its covert-investigation story, which plays like a thriller in a terrifying real world. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/navalny-2022) ## IndieWire — David Ehrlich Rating B. 25 January 2022. Festival review. Ehrlich finds the documentary slick and suspenseful but politically superficial. He singles out Navalny’s phone call to an alleged assassination plotter as its remarkable, thriller-like centerpiece. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/navalny-documentary-review-1234693689/) ## Screen Daily — Fionnuala Halligan Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 29 January 2022. Festival review. The accessible text does not reveal the critic’s verdict. The standfirst highlights Roher following Navalny as he investigates a plot to kill him. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/navalny-sundance-review/5166917.article) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Daniel Fienberg Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 26 January 2022. Festival review. Fienberg finds the documentary jaw-dropping and tense, though constrained by limited depth. He singles out Navalny’s call to suspected poisoners as a suspenseful set-piece. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/navalny-review-1235081209/) ## The New Yorker — Anthony Lane Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 24 April 2022. Lane finds the documentary gripping, darkly funny, and persuasive, while questioning whether its revelations can reach beyond a sympathetic Western audience. He praises the farcical scene in which Navalny calls a man allegedly involved in his poisoning and gets a confession. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-bitter-russian-truths-of-navalny) ## RogerEbert.com Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). The page shows only a browser-check message, so the critic’s verdict cannot be determined. No praise or complaint from the review is available in the provided text. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/navalny-movie-review-2022) ## The New York Times — Manohla Dargis Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 24 April 2022. The page could not be read, so the critic’s verdict and specific praise or complaint cannot be confirmed. No review text was available beyond a message asking readers to enable JavaScript and disable ad blockers. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/24/movies/navalny-review.html) ## Sight and Sound Fi1m's normalised score 45/100 (inferred from the text). 11 February 2022. The review finds the documentary gripping but misguided in its buoyant, triumphant framing of Navalny’s imprisonment and political struggle. It praises the tense phone-call sequence exposing the assassination plot, while faulting the film for sidelining Navalny’s broader political career. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/navalny-russian-spy-thriller-dressed-documentary) ## HeyUGuys Fi1m's normalised score 95/100 (inferred from the text). Festival review. The critic calls it an exhilarating, powerful documentary and the best documentary at Sundance 2022. They praise its unprecedented access and gripping recorded phone call, while wishing for more context about Navalny’s earlier life and politics. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/navalny-review/) ## Deadline — Todd McCarthy Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 26 January 2022. Festival review. The critic finds the documentary swift, inspiring, and propulsive, and recommends it to anyone interested in contemporary politics. He especially praises its close access to Navalny and the grippingly captured events surrounding his return to Russia. [Read the review](https://deadline.com/2022/01/navalny-documentary-film-review-sundance-1234919956/) ## Eye for Film — Jeremy Mathews Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 5 February 2022. The critic finds the documentary engaging and often suspenseful, while noting that its scope is not a full biography. The prank call to one of the alleged poisoners stands out as a compelling, tightly tense scene. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/navalny-2022-film-review-by-jeremy-mathews) ## /Film — Ben Pearson Rating 8/10. 28 January 2022. Festival review. The review finds the documentary riveting and humanizing, while ending on a note of dread about Navalny’s imprisonment. It especially praises the investigation’s shift into spy-thriller mode and its jaw-dropping revelation. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/749606/navalny-review-a-riveting-portrait-of-vladimir-putins-worst-nightmare-sundance-2022/) ## The Playlist Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). Festival review. The headline presents the documentary as an entertaining thriller. It singles out its thriller-like approach as the key appeal. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/navalny-review-russian-dissident-doc-plays-out-like-an-entertaining-thriller-sundance-20220201/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/navalny.md