Matt Brunson Film Frenzy Jan 11, 2026 3/4

Ultimately a son's affectionate tribute to his dad, a difficult man who floundered as a regular father but established himself as a "founding father" of a different sort.

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Kaleem Aftab The List Apr 24, 2019 3/5

[An] enjoyable docu-romp... Sadly, there's neither enough first-hand evidence from Van Peebles Sr. himself nor sufficient social historical perspective for Baadasssss to make the leap from being a good documentary to a great one.

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Deborah Hornblow Hartford Courant Jan 2, 2018 3/5

Audiences unfamiliar with "Sweetback'' can enjoy and understand the story chronicled in "Baadasssss!,'' but the experience is infinitely richer if you have seen the film that inspired it.

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Felix Vasquez Jr. Cinema Crazed Sep 22, 2013

This is excellent and well worth the watch for any artist.

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Cole Smithey ColeSmithey.com Jun 10, 2009 B-

...successfully capture a spirit largely missing in American cinema...

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Joe Lozito Big Picture Big Sound Jul 14, 2007 3.5/4

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Lewis Beale Film Journal International Mar 1, 2007

A loving, even moving, homage to a man whose influence still reverberates today.

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Bill Clark FromTheBalcony Jun 17, 2005 A

It is so refreshing to see a film with not one wasted second, beautiful acting, and a total understanding of its source material.

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Ethan Alter NYC Film Critic Mar 5, 2005 2/5

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Rich Cline Shadows on the Wall Jan 26, 2005 4/5

Wit, energy, heart and soul!

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Robert Roten Laramie Movie Scope Jan 25, 2005 A

Informative, compelling, dramatic entertainment.

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J. Robert Parks JeffreyOverstreet.com (Ghost.io) Dec 6, 2004 4/5

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Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Sep 14, 2004 B-

A personal film shot from the heart.

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Jimmy O Film Snobs Sep 10, 2004 4/5

Who knew Mario had this much passion and creativity in him? A great tribute to his father's obsessive brilliance.

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James Sanford Kalamazoo Gazette Sep 9, 2004

both as an atmospheric, often funny look at the wild world of independent moviemaking and as a surprisingly touching story of father/son bonding.

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Nick Davis Nick's Flick Picks Aug 29, 2004 C+

Disappoints in being so decorous, but it's still a good yarn; though Mario has always been too stolid as an actor, he surrounds himself here with some reliably good turns.

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Philip Martin Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Aug 25, 2004 B+

... so charged with love and a kind of astonished admiration that it would be small and unkind to dwell on its moments of clumsiness.

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Jon Niccum Lawrence Journal-World Aug 20, 2004 3/4

The most intriguing portions of this drama involve tales of how the elder Peebles circumvents the system in order to keep the camera rolling.

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David Denby The New Yorker Aug 1, 2004

It's an exhausting, and exhaustingly pleasurable, entertainment.

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