Liam and Noel Gallagher have another reason not to look back in anger: good reviews. Critics generally agree that the brothers’ concert film, Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger, is a welcome addition to the band’s story, currently holding a 96% score on Rotten Tomatoes and an 80 “generally favorable” rating on Metacritic.
Directed by Will Lovelace and Dylan Southern, the documentary focuses on the Gallaghers’ Oasis Live ’25 reunion tour. The film features rehearsal, backstage and onstage access, as well as the first joint interviews with Noel and Liam in more than 20 years. The film, which world-premiered at the Venice Film Festival, will have a limited theatrical run beginning Friday before streaming on Disney+ later this year.
The rave reviews
Glenn Kenny of The New York Times gave the film a glowing review, writing, “It’s hard not to get emotional watching Liam turn the singing of “Live Forever” over to a stadium crowd. This movie is both a headbanger and a tear-jerker,” while praising the film for chronicling the Gallagher brothers’ 2025 reunion and world tour.
Richard Lawson of The Hollywood Reporter said he was unexpectedly moved by the concert documentary, writing, “Maybe they’re just putting on a good act for the cameras, but the film endearingly softens their image while still giving us some of their famously witty insouciance (especially Liam’s), their wry outlook on their rocky years and the wholly different bond they’ve formed in middle age.”
Lawson also found the audience response to the reunion particularly heartwarming. “It is an undeniable pleasure, a warming and holistic charge, to watch crowds of people having the time of their lives together, experiencing huge emotions en masse.”
Matt Zoller Seitz of RogerEbert.com was also a huge fan, writing, “This is one of the best music documentaries ever made because, while it gives us a little bit of the story of the brothers and the band, it’s not really about any of that. As directed by Will Lovelace and Dylan Southern and written by film and TV screenwriter Steven Knight (a credit that acknowledges contributions to the movie’s concept, themes, and structure), the Oasis reunion tour is a way of drawing us into the movie’s true subjects: what music means to people, and the practical value and personal importance of art in everyday life.”
The mixed reviews
Mark Savage of the BBC feels the film doesn’t go far enough, particularly when it comes to explaining the fallout between the brothers. “Nobody explains the fallout. We don’t find out who instigated the rapprochement, nor do we hear how it affected their family.”
Still, Savage agrees with Lawson that the reaction from Oasis fans is one of the film’s highlights. “Capturing the sheer surge of affection that greeted Oasis’s return. We visit shows in Dublin, Manchester, São Paulo, Tokyo and New York — and every one has a fan with a personal story to tell.”
He also praises the music, writing, “The music is still thrilling. The live mix is impeccable. Liam sounds incredible.” However, Savage takes issue with the film’s structure: “In a biopic, the triumphant night in Cardiff would have been the final scene — the moment of resolution after 15 years of pain. Here, it comes about 40 minutes into the action. Every subsequent concert just rinses and repeats the same story.”
Elena Lazic of Variety also offers a more mixed take on Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger. While she praises the film’s technical execution — notably its impressive concert footage and “appropriately very loud sound design” — she ultimately feels the documentary plays it too safe.
Lazic argues that the film’s biggest weakness is its reluctance to embrace the band’s trademark volatility, resulting in an “uncharacteristically polite and sentimental portrait” of a famously chaotic rock group. She notes that both Liam and Noel Gallagher appear guarded and restrained throughout, offering little genuine insight into their rekindled relationship or the true motivations behind their 2025 reunion tour.
