Planet B-Boy Reviews

Great entertainment backed with profound social and cultural insight about the worldwide grass roots importance of breakdancing. After admiring the dancers' athleticism, you'll want to hit the gym.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5

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.

Full Review

What they all have in common, as Quik, a member of Japan's Ichigeki Crew, explains, is a passion for the border-busting power dance, movement as a movement, freedom of expression, wild-style.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5

An exhilarating documentary about street dancers from around the globe.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5

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.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4

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.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4

If I could, I would spin on my head to express how much I enjoyed Planet B-Boy.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4

While the film stresses how hip-hop unifies different cultures, it's interesting to see how each culture's youth has appropriated the principles of hip-hop for its own self-expression.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4

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.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4

Hip-hop fans should flock to Planet B-Boy to see what break dancing looks like around the world, but so should movie-musical and performance-art fans who love intelligent and aggressive improvisation and energy.

Full Review | Original Score: B+

Regardless of its shortcomings, there is a variety of break dancing on display here that will bring the viewer up to speed on the state of the art.

Full Review | Original Score: B-

Planet B-Boy effortlessly makes the case that breakdancing is a genuine art form. Mixing ballet and the street, the crews are dazzling.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4

An exuberant study of the ways competition and collaboration can team up when it comes to the creativity of these guys.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4

The battles in Benson Lee's documentary Planet B-Boy are exceptional. The movie's not bad, either.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4

...a well-balance work that captures the often jaw dropping performances by the dancers.

Full Review | Original Score: B

After watching this movie, I felt like every nerve ending in my body was shooting sparks. No wonder these boys dedicate their lives to this dance. It's electrifying.

Full Review

The film overflows with displays of explosive dancing and does a superb job showing the form's incredible complexity and technical diversity.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4

So while I might complain about some of Lee's filmmaking choices, I feel nothing but wonder and delight at seeing these dancers excel at something they love so passionately.

[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.

Full Review

Planet B-Boy pays fitting homage to both breakers' impressive dance skills and the roots of hip-hop culture. Agile camerawork propels the narrative at a brisk pace, and crisp editing synchs rhythmically with the score's propulsive beat.