Review: Stan Lee (2023)

Arriving on Disney+ today is the documentary film, Stan Lee. The docu-movie – from director David Gelb – tells the story of the late comic book creator (and cameo king), Stanley Martin Lieber, aka Stan Lee.

The film is being released during what is Disney’s 100 year anniversary, and if he was still alive, it would have been Stan Lee’s 100th year on the planet too. So, this is a timely piece, which looks back on the lifetime and legacy of a legend.

Many will know Stan Lee as the co-creator of Marvel icons such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the Fantastic Four, and the X-Men, but they may not know his story. This documentary brings his journey to the forefront, starting from his childhood in the 1920s, to his first job in the 1930s at Timely Comics (which would later become Atlas, then Marvel), and then onward to become a much-loved face on the big screen via various Hollywood blockbusters.

A great deal of this docu-film has been told before, through Stan’s autobiography, and through the many, many stories that Stan liked to tell over the years; however, what will make this documentary work for some audiences, is that all of his stories are told by the man himself. Yep, almost all of the dialogue used in this docu-film comes from Stan Lee.

While he may no longer be with us, there is plenty of footage and voice recordings out there to compile a documentary. All of this material has been spliced into one to create the narration, so this is a Stan Lee documentary about Stan Lee, told by Stan Lee.

Stan talks about the war years, the birth of the Marvel age of comics, and everything that followed. His thoughts, feelings, and inspirations are all in here, along with some occasional archival input from the likes of legendary artist, Jack Kirby, publisher Flo Steinberg, and Stan’s late wife, Joan Lee.

From a visual standpoint, there’s not a great deal going on, as the narration is largely placed over the top of archival footage. Some of this material features Stan or Marvel Comics characters, while at times stock imagery is used.

So, yeah, not all that visually arresting, I’m afraid. However, for those who want to know Stan’s story, or who simply want to reconnect with his voice, there’s something here to hold the attention.

Stan was a superb raconteur, so it’s not difficult to simply follow along and learn about his 95 years on Earth. This documentary condenses Stan’s life into 90 ‘easy-to-watch’ minutes and it is all quite interesting.

Those who know Stan inside and out won’t discover anything new, but for everyone else, this film offers the opportunity to celebrate a pop icon. Stan created some of the biggest, most famous characters around today, and this docu-film provides all the details.

I’m in no doubt that at some point in the not-too-distant future, Disney will produce a bio-pic about Stan Lee. But for now, this is arguably the best way to find out more about him.

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