Having had a little time now to dwell on this documentary series after watching it over a few days, I think I can now arrive at a balanced opinion.
My initial knee-jerk reaction to the negative or "less-than-positive" reviews on here was to dismiss them as not having a clue what they're talking about. But the more I have put myself in their shoes, the more I kinda get where they're coming from.
Let me explain.
The "problem" with "Get Back" is that it's not really a documentary intended for a general viewership. It really is for Beatles aficionados and purists. I am one of those, and so I found the series compelling from start to finish -- it offers such tremendous insights into the dynamics of the band, how they went about writing and recording songs, and their unparalleled genius. Watching Paul McCartney come in and write the song "Get Back" on his bass guitar, starting out by humming/mumbling random words and noises, and seeing it develop, really blew me away. And when John Lennon just strolls into the room and picks up his guitar and starts playing along -- again, this is the stuff that Beatles' geeks dream about seeing.
I really wish I could get access to the full 60 or so hours of footage that this series was whittled down from, I don't care how mundane the conversations or activities are, I'd lap that s**t up.
However, putting myself in the shoes of someone who's just vaguely interested in The Beatles, I totally understand why they might not dig "Get Back". It is long and pretty slow-paced, and I can see how people would find it "boring" if they aren't interested in the band.
My mum, girlfriend, next door neighbour -- people who "quite like" The Beatles but would never call themselves huge fans -- would quite happily sit down and watch a 2-hour The Beatles documentary that charts their history and evolution. But "Get Back" isn't that -- it's roughly 8 hours of pretty slow conversations, banter, and instrument noodling.
I imagine an equivalent of Get Back for another band -- say, "The Sex Pistols" or "The Jam" -- and I would struggle to watch anything more than a general 2-hour documentary on them. The reason being, while I like their music and am interested in their status as cultural icons, I am not SO interested in them that I care about the intricate details of their internal dynamics and relationships.
And so that basically sums up "Get Back" -- if you're a huge The Beatles fan, and have a geeky fascination in everything that made them "tick", you will love this. But if you just generally like their music, perhaps have one of their Best Of compilations, I can totally understand why you might think that this is not amazing entertainment.
In summary, "Get Back" is superb, but it really is one for the purists.
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