79
Metascore
18 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90SlashfilmAbby OlceseSlashfilmAbby OlceseFeels Good Man is, in some sense, a horror movie about the legacy of images, the ownership of images by their creators, and the lives they take on outside of the artists who make them. In particular, it’s a horror story about the life of one particular image: Pepe.
- 89Austin ChronicleAustin ChronicleBeyond putting the focus back on the artist and his art, what makes Jones’ documentary important is that it actually takes on internet culture in a serious fashion.
- 88Slant MagazineDerek SmithSlant MagazineDerek SmithThat the democratization of the internet has opened a doorway for fascist ideologies to openly quash democratic ones is an irony that isn’t lost on the film.
- 83The Film StageJordan RaupThe Film StageJordan RaupIt’s a depressing, disturbing journey to witness, but an essential one to see the machinations of evil that pervade and influence our daily life on the internet and beyond.
- 80The VergeAdi RobertsonThe VergeAdi RobertsonMany documentaries become less interesting the more you already know about the subject. But Feels Good Man presents a heavily covered story in a thoughtful and vivid way. Even its standard talking-head segments are peppered with compelling absurdities.
- 80The New York TimesBen KenigsbergThe New York TimesBen KenigsbergAt its best, the movie is a vertiginous, head-slapping examination of the tangible, unpredictable consequences of making art.
- Jones uses Furie’s story, and some gorgeous animation, as a wonderfully succinct window into the way social media has changed the country. By letting 4channers speak for themselves, the film also puts a face to the bad actors without ever letting them off the hook.
- 75IndieWireDavid EhrlichIndieWireDavid EhrlichThis isn’t just the definitive story of a perma-stoned frog who just likes to do what “feels good man,” it’s also an expansive forensic look at the life cycle of an idea, a warp-speed analysis of internet sociology, and a harrowingly modern fable about innocence lost. If the film can’t find a way to be all of those things at once, it’s still horrific and fascinating and maybe even a little bit hopeful to see how this strange world of ours has knotted them together.
- 70Film ThreatNorman GidneyFilm ThreatNorman GidneyUltimately affirming Feels Good Man is a fun, feel-good doc.
- 60The Hollywood ReporterDaniel FienbergThe Hollywood ReporterDaniel FienbergBuying Pepe as misunderstood and buying Pepe as a character destined for redemption are two different things, and it's the argument after the buildup where Feels Good Man stopped feeling persuasive for me. Your hopefulness may vary.