Planet B-Boy 2008

Matt Zoller Seitz, New York Times: Still, from moment to moment, Planet B-Boy is fun, sometimes thrilling and packed with illuminating details and striking personalities Read more

Andrea Gronvall, Chicago Reader: Benson Lee's crackling 2007 video documentary follows five teams as they compete for a world title, with one amazing number after another showcasing the dancers' chorus-line precision, gymnastic athleticism, and thematic novelty. Read more

Tom Keogh, Seattle Times: The seemingly endless performances can be a bit much, but Lee's sensitivity to the need of these dancers to say something about themselves through dazzling moves is memorable. Read more

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: The battles in Benson Lee's documentary Planet B-Boy are exceptional. The movie's not bad, either. Read more

Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle: If I could, I would spin on my head to express how much I enjoyed Planet B-Boy. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: An exuberant study of the ways competition and collaboration can team up when it comes to the creativity of these guys. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: What's fun about Benson Lee's documentary Planet B-Boy isn't just the amazingly athletic displays of B-boys he puts on screen, but the film's sense of cultural discovery. Read more

Amy Nicholson, I.E. Weekly: Lee does a decent job making us care for the squads, but he does his film a better service just by pointing his camera at the breath-taking contortions of the human body. Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: Though he doesn't break any new documentary ground, Lee knows how to shoot his subjects. Their stories are moving, and their moves are thrilling. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: The break-dancing documentary Planet B-Boy proves that what might be (but probably isn't) worth five minutes of your time while you're passing through the Times Square subway station really isn't worth a 11/2-hour movie. Read more

David Wiegand, San Francisco Chronicle: The film overflows with displays of explosive dancing and does a superb job showing the form's incredible complexity and technical diversity. Read more

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Read more

Susan Walker, Toronto Star: If Benson Lee's intention with Planet B-Boy was to set the record straight on the continuing story of break dancers, then his documentary has to be counted a success. With a few caveats. Read more

Ben Kenigsberg, Time Out: Read more

David Fear, Time Out: Read more

Dennis Harvey, Variety: Often exhilarating docu charts several breakdancing crews' path to the Battle of the Year, which hosts national winners from 18 countries -- not excluding Israel, Belgium or Latvia -- in dazzling competitive displays. Read more

Ed Gonzalez, Village Voice: Notoriety and financial reward are hard to come by in the world of b-boying, a reality illuminated by Benson Lee's documentary. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: [Director] Lee makes a spirited and persuasive case for break dancing, not only as an art form of strength, beauty, discipline and instinct, but as a means of transcending caste and culture. Read more