Bo66y

At the time of writing this it is two months until the 30^th July 2016, marking the day that it's 50 years, to the very day, that England won it's first and only FIFA World Cup. It's a fitting time to release such a film with the so mentioned and the European Championships starting in less than a weeks time. Football fans have been treated this season with Leicester defying the odds and winning the Premier League in what is arguably the greatest sporting achievement of all time and they'll be treated once again with this touching documentary on England's greatest defender.

Bobby Moore is one of the England's greatest ever players, he was the captain the National Team that won the FIFA World Cup on home soil, he is revered by many and regarded by many (some of whom are the greatest players in the World) as the finest defender who ever lived. Whether you think it's ridiculous or not, sports stars are regarded as heroes and very few players are as highly regarded as Bobby Moore is now. His skill on the ball, his talent for reading the game, his leadership abilities made him one of the very best players to ever grace the game.

Ron Scalpello's documentary remains a touching one without being mawkish or overly sentimental, it's a film that celebrates the life of a charming, likeable and passionate footballer but its also a documentary that holds a lot of thinly veiled anger about how he'd became a forgotten man after his playing career had finished. The documentary isn't particularly ambitious, it's pretty standard with it's archival footage, talking heads (featuring former teammates, friends, wives) but it takes time to analyse his later life where depression, debt, cancer and rejection by the establishment became a major part of his life.

The blending of colourised footage with the black and white footage is pretty good, and the scenes transporting us back to the days of Moore, Eusebio and Pele are exciting but importantly the documentary is an engaging one emotionally, it's easy to see why this man was so revered. It's a good, moving documentary, perhaps more likely to be enjoyed by football fans looking for that bit of hope with European championships on the horizon. 

3.5/5 

Note:  It's also worth checking out Next Goal Wins, a review of which I have linked too.