Senna (2010)

All Critics (117) | Top Critics (33) | Fresh (108) | Rotten (9) | DVD (2)

Captivating, chilling, and surprisingly sublime.

September 9, 2011 Full Review

Christine Champ

Film.com

Top Critic

A psychologically intriguing if at times too hagiographic portrait of a man who often held pole position in his profession and felt nearer to God because of it.

August 26, 2011 Full Review

Lisa Kennedy

Denver Post

Top Critic

"Senna" is carefully edited and makes sometimes spectacular use of extensive home movies and videos.

August 25, 2011 Full Review

John Hartl

Seattle Times

Top Critic

There's not an ounce of fat or a wasted shot throughout.

August 25, 2011 Full Review

Colin Covert

Minneapolis Star Tribune

Top Critic

You don't have to know anything about car racing at all. Instead, you simply have to like a great story, one that has all the elements: drama, inspiration, competition, victory, defeat, betrayal and, looming above it all, tragedy.

August 25, 2011 Full Review

Bill Goodykoontz

Arizona Republic

Top Critic

It's stripped of narration, talking heads, and anything else that might threaten to slow it down.

August 22, 2011 Full Review

Anthony Lane

New Yorker

Top Critic

No, NASCAR coverage on TV never looks as good as this.

January 7, 2013 Full Review

Roger Moore

McClatchy-Tribune News Service

Senna is not only one of the best films of this year, or of the last 10 years. It is one of the best films of all time.

July 1, 2012 Full Review

Rhett Bartlett

Dial M For Movies

...a surprisingly deft examination of the power of faith...

February 5, 2012 Full Review

Gabe Leibowitz

Film and Felt

Senna stands as a triumph of [its makers'] knack for story craft and their ability to sort through a staggering volume of material and piece it together into a unified, powerful narrative.

January 27, 2012 Full Review

Jay Antani

Cinema Writer

If we define a classic documentary by its ability to transcend niche subject matter and engage all audiences, then the exhilarating and unbelievable Senna is one of cinema's recent best.

January 25, 2012 Full Review

Shaun Munro

What Culture

While this documentary is unreeling, we're definitely along for the ride. But there's no aftertaste, except for that of burnt metal.

November 25, 2011 Full Review

Burl Burlingame

Honolulu Star-Advertiser

A model of documentary storytelling efficiency.

October 28, 2011 Full Review

John Beifuss

Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

Though the film seemingly had a good ambassador for the sport, astounding racing footage and was well-presented, the subject matter never fully engaged me.

October 17, 2011 Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Ozus' World Movie Reviews

You don't have to be a Formula 1 nut to enjoy this enthralling documentary ... Asif Kapadia's film Senna is so skillfully put together that its portrayal of a complex, charismatic and fascinating figure will grip even those with no interest in the sport.

October 10, 2011 Full Review

Jason Best

Movie Talk

"Senna" is a streamlined piece of filmmaking, completely immersing the viewer in Senna's world and never losing momentum as it moves from one breakneck race to another.

October 7, 2011 Full Review

Rob Thomas

Capital Times (Madison, WI)

It's impossible not to be impressed by how director Asif Kapadia and writer Manish Pandey have managed to craft a biographical film completely out of archive footage.

September 30, 2011 Full Review

Ken Hanke

Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Uses an astonishing wealth of racing and interview footage - including film shot by in-car cameras during races - to chart in a compelling way the dramatic rise and heart-rending end of the Brazilian legend.

September 29, 2011 Full Review

Chris Foran

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The film is a snapshot in time of an imperfect, interrupted life more than a gateway drug to racing enthusiasm.

September 21, 2011 Full Review

Justin Strout

Orlando Weekly

There's no doubt Senna was a great driver, but this competently executed highlights reel doesn't tell us much beyond that.

September 15, 2011 Full Review | Comments (4)

Josh Bell

Las Vegas Weekly

...an entertaining, absorbing and inspiring documentary celebrating a champion's talent.

September 14, 2011 Full Review

Andrew Hedley

Flicks.co.nz

Ayrton Senna was a phenomenon, and as such, he was filmed, interviewed, and photographed repeatedly throughout his career, images now assembled as the documentary Senna.

September 8, 2011 Full Review

Cynthia Fuchs

PopMatters

• 1. Sid Watkins: [just after Ratzenburger's death] You know Ayrton, you've been 3 times world champion, you're the fastest man in the world, and you like fishing, so, why don't you quit, and i'll quit and we'll just go fishing.
  2. Ayrton Senna: Sid. I can't quit.
  – Submitted by Edward H (12 months ago)
• 1. John Bisignano: There's only one word that describes Ayrton's style, and that is: fast. He would take the car beyond it's design capabilities. He would brake later, fly into these corners where the car was just over the edge, and somehow, he could dance and dance with that car, to where it stayed on track.
  – Submitted by Edward H (12 months ago)
• 1. Jackie Stewart: Okay, let me ask you another difficult question: If I were to count back all the world champions, the number of times that they had made contact with other drivers, that you in the last 36 months or 48 months, have been in contact with more other cars and drivers than they might have done in total.
  2. Ayrton Senna: I find (it) amazing for you to make such a question Stewart, because you are very expirienced-
  3. Jackie Stewart: Hmm...Very.
  4. Ayrton Senna: ...And you know a lot about racing. And you should know that by being a racing driver, you are under risks all the time. By being a racing driver means you are racing with other people. And if you no longer go for a gap that exists, you're no longer a racing driver, because we are competing. We are competing to win, and the main motivation to all of us is to compete for victory; it's not to come 3rd, 4th, 5th or 6th.
  – Submitted by Edward H (12 months ago)
• 1. Ayrton Senna: Pure driving, pure racing, that's what makes me happy.
  – Submitted by Josh K (18 months ago)
• 1. Ayrton Senna: If you have God on your side, everything becomes clear.
  – Submitted by Daniela F (21 months ago)
• 1. Ayrton Senna: Fear is exciting for me.
  – Submitted by Daniela F (21 months ago)

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