The Pogmentary, Prime Video's lavish new look at the life of former Manchester United and future Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba, has broken records, but not the genre Prime Video would have hoped for.
The documentary was released on Prime Video on June 17 and was billed as a comprehensive and exclusive look at Pogba's life, family and career, focusing on how he became the football player he is today. However, it was not well received by viewers at all.
The show quickly became the lowest-rated show on IMDB in the history of the website (opens in a new tab), currently with only one star out of 10. Over 10,500 votes were cast for the documentary, with nearly 93% of them giving is only 1/10.
By comparison, Netflix's new comedy God's Favorite Idiot, which received a universal kick from critics, currently has a 5.7 rating on the site, well above Pogmentary.
What do the voters say?
Lots of not-so-nice things. (opens in a new tab) What catches viewers' attention the most is a scene in which the player describes an offer of a new €367,000 (€300,000) a week contract extension from Manchester United as "nothing ».
One review described the Frenchman as "an overrated, overrated, overpaid footballer who believes he is the center of the football universe, a leaker and a veritable virus to any locker room", while another called it "the worst documentary I have ever seen". viewed". «. .»
Most of the criticism was reserved for Pogba himself and his rather large ego, but the show's structure was also questioned, with one writer adding: "How can a documentary be so bad, totally unexpected on a platform like Amazon? Really poorly structured and a complete waste of time.
The show hasn't received a Rotten Tomatoes rating yet, but so far it has a 0% viewership score, so that's unlikely to be good news...
Paul Pogba in action for Manchester United (Image credit: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
Is it possible that it's just a lot of rival fans spamming the site?
Given that Pogba is currently, albeit probably briefly, without a club, Prime Video executives will not be able to attribute that reaction to angry fans at Liverpool, Manchester City or even United, the club Pogba has just sacked.
This writer showed up to just one episode of the documentary and was surprised, but not in a good way. He is inconsistent, poorly structured and offers no insight into Pogba's strengths or weaknesses. He dives into strange animated sequences before returning to the player images at home with his wife and children.
Prime Video has made some brilliant sports documentaries in recent years with its All or Nothing series. Documenting entire seasons at Manchester City, Juventus and Tottenham Hotspur, as well as with the New Zealand All Blacks and Canada's Toronto Maple Leafs ice hockey team, the series is gripping. It is also done very clearly without interference from the club and the players.
To shoot All or Nothing: Tottenham Hotspur, for example, the team used 25 remote-controlled still cameras and 66 ambient microphones, which were set up at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and the club's training center in Enfield, as well as a film crew the gang followed.
Meanwhile, Pogba's documentary has the feel of a spectacle shot with the player standing on the director's shoulder, frequently stepping in to cut out all the juicy bits.
Everyone who watched the show clearly felt the same way.
Looking for a good sports drama? Here's a show we can really support.
