Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
Through archival interviews and footage, George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley relive the arc of their Wham! career, from 70s best buds to 80s pop icons.
WHAM! is a warmly nostalgic music documentary that benefits enormously from rich archival footage and the genuine chemistry between George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley, whose on-camera reflections feel candid and affectionate. The narrative arc is engaging, tracing an unlikely friendship into global pop stardom with real emotional weight — particularly in its closing passages, where the shadow of George Michael's later life and death gives the material a bittersweet poignancy that elevates the ending well above the documentary norm. Cinematography is functional — largely archival assembly — without distinctive visual authorship. Novelty is limited; the talking-head-plus-archive format is a well-worn template for music docs, and the film does little to reinvent that grammar, even if it executes it warmly. Acting is not really applicable but the subjects' sincerity and charm carry the human dimension effectively.