Iron Maiden: Burning Ambition is a watchable, uncritical documentary that tells the story of the massive rise, slight fall, and further massive rise of the veteran rockers. The film is a metal hymn of praise, sounding a power chord of defiance against milksop pop trends.
A Fan Pleaser from Start to Finish
The documentary is cheerful and on-brand, using vintage archive photos and video rather than close-up talking-head footage of the band now. It is uninterested in anything critical, featuring fervent, humorous testimonies from Maiden superfans like Javier Bardem, Metallica's Lars Ulrich, and Kiss's Gene Simmons.
The film walks through lineup changes, including the departure of lead singer Paul Di'Anno and the loss and rehiring of Bruce Dickinson. It respects the band for avoiding self-aware gags about fatal gardening accidents. Maiden carried on rocking while cultural studies looked the other way.
Maiden's Enduring Presence
There was punk (and Maiden), disco (and Maiden), Bowie (and Maiden), Michael Jackson (and Maiden), grunge (and Maiden). They weren't invited to play Live Aid but routinely played Live Aid-sized concerts worldwide throughout the 1980s. Metal didn't need patronising approval from nonbelievers. One clip features Danny Baker narrating an unpatronising report on the band.
Different from Other Rock Docs
This film is very different from Metallica: Some Kind of Monster (2004), which showed the band in therapeutic self-scrutiny, or Becoming Led Zeppelin (2025), which offered musical and historical context. However, like the Zeppelin documentary, Burning Ambition shows reticence about certain aspects of touring. One band member says: 'There were all these … new experiences.'
Apart from a brief reference to guitarist Steve Harris's divorce, nothing personal is revealed. But the film pays tribute to Iron Maiden's role in breaking through to Iron Curtain countries like Poland in the 1980s. The band would reject a label as feeble as 'soft power'.
Iron Maiden: Burning Ambition is in cinemas from 7 May.
