Schumacher

A documentary on seven-times Formula 1 World Champion Michael Schumacher. Through race footage and interviews with teammates, rivals, friends, family and himself we see his history and get a picture of a man who dominated the sport of motor racing.

An interesting documentary on a man who is synonymous with Formula 1 and is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, F1 driver of all time. Shows well his history, his humble beginnings, how his experience as a child racing go-karts shaped him into the champion driver he would become, his ups and downs. The struggle years with Ferrari, the first few years he was there, are covered quite extensively and show his perseverance and the rewards for it.

I could have done with more details of the races and championships though. Through narrowly focusing on Schumacher you miss out on the broader F1 history. On several occasions I had to reach for my phone and look up how a championship season ended and who won. Even in individual races the film just concentrates on a controversial Schumacher incident and then just leaves it at that, rather than tells us how the race ended.

This also extends to Schumacher's golden period, 2000-2004, where, other the 2000 win, nothing much is said about the other four years. After showing us in grim detail the struggles of the early Ferrari years the producers could at least have allowed us to enjoy the pinnacle of his career. Once again I had to look up the details myself.

Through interviews with his wife and children we also get to learn more about his private life. This is reasonably interesting and shows another side to Schumacher. However, this aspect is overdone, overly sentimental and starts to feel like a promotion.

The lack of detail mentioned before then carries through to the conclusion. The skiing incident and aftermath is told in very cryptic terms. No details of what happened, no details of how he is now. It feels quite empty and once again the producers turn to sentimental interviews, rather than details, to fill in the space.

Overall it's still quite interesting and does give you a decent picture of the man, his personality, history and achievements but falls short of being comprehensive or brilliant.

A wonderfully inspiring sports documentary that focuses on the racing legend's iconic rise, Schumacher is a shining example of the good stuff that Netflix is capable of producing. The documentary really humanizes the larger-than-life Schumacher - as a friend, a colleague, a family member, and an excellent racecar driver - all perspectives well-rooted and covered in equal measure. Even his competent peers only had the greatest things to say about him. The makers thankfully do not relegate it to a sheer puff-piece by also showcasing Schumacher's vulnerabilities and struggles before he became 7-time World Champion. It also doesn't resort to excessive melodrama and focuses less on the accident that rendered him catatonic. Private matters stay strictly private. It's a competently made tribute piece that mires millennials in beautiful nostalgia.

Is 1h 52m enough to cover Schumacher's life? Not at all. Is it still worth a watch? Definitely.

Beautifully told story of his racing career, taking a look at all the key highlights including his battles with Senna, Villenueve, Hill & Hakkinen. His wife plays a predominant role in telling the story, giving great insight as to how Schumi was behind the cameras. Credit to anyone who can hold their emotion back for the ending of the documentary which talks about his current well being, a racer he was, but above all he was a Father to two beautiful children - a must watch for any sporting fan.

Schumacher>Hamilton.

Anyone who disagrees is wrong.

Knowing the situation Michael is those last 8 years, I couldn't stop crying from the beginning until the end of it. An absolute masterpiece documentary and the perfect tribute to a legend like Schumacher. After watching this, I'm even more happy I've started following F1 in his time and proud becoming one of his millions worldwide fans.

P.s. Hope he recovers as soon as possible and comes back to circuits watching his son Mick racing in F1 :)