Watchable, uncritical doc tells the story of the massive rise, slight fall, then further massive rise of the veteran rockers
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ounding a power chord of defiance against the milksop trends of pop is this good-natured documentary about metal superheroes Iron Maiden. The origin of the band name isn’t explained, incidentally, perhaps for the fun of letting people get freaked out by looking it up for themselves.
It’s cheerful and watchable, if a relentlessly on-brand fan promo, corporately policed and controlled, using vintage archive photos and video rather than closeup talking-head footage of the band now. It is uninterested in anything critical, with fervent, humorous testimonies from Maiden superfans from all walks of life, including Javier Bardem, Metallica’s Lars Ulrich and Kiss’s Gene Simmons.
The film tells the story of the massive rise, very slight fall, and then further massive rise of Iron Maiden, whose colossal success was achieved without kowtowing to the smirking media gatekeepers of cool. The film walks us through the changes of lineup, including the departure of lead singer Paul Di’Anno and the loss and rehiring of his replacement Bruce Dickinson – and I respect the band for not doing self-aware gags about fatal gardening accidents, etc. Maiden carried on rocking while the cultural studies crowd were looking the other way.
