Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger (2026) – Film Review
Directors: Will Lovelace, Dylan Southern
Certificate: 15
By David Reid
Have you ever wanted to relive the experience you had seeing Oasis live, or wished you had seen them last year, but couldn’t, or just wondered what all the fuss was about? Well, dear reader, Oasis have got it covered. This documentary was filmed during six weeks of rehearsals and thirteen concerts on the Oasis Live ’25 tour, across five continents.
The directors, Will Lovelace and Dylan Southern, have condensed 1,800 hours of footage into a two-hour package for your entertainment. They have previous music-documentary experience with LCD Soundsystem and Blur. Yes, that Blur, who had a well-publicised rivalry with Oasis in the mid-1990s, which, we have since learned, was more manufactured than real.
The documentary starts with a potted history of the formation and speedy success of the band, and their trials and tribulations, before a seismic falling-out between Liam and Noel Gallagher backstage before a concert in Paris in 2009. After that night, the brothers were not to speak to each other for fifteen years. Their mutual antagonism was played out over social media and through the traditional media for global consumption. Perhaps, like me, you stood in a stadium waiting for the band to show up – and they didn’t. Would the brothers make it back onto the same stage ever again? Well, we now know that they did, and this is the story of that part of the band’s journey.
In addition, key past band members Gem Archer, Andy Bell and Paul ‘Bonehead’ Arthurs are part of the reformed band. The latter, in particular, is an important part of the band’s signature sound. But would Liam even make it to rehearsals? The footage shows a tense scene amongst the waiting band members as they wonder the same thing. He does make it eventually, although the film paints an albeit fleeting, yet memorable, picture of the band’s interactions in the rehearsal space.
We quickly move on to the build-up to the first reunion concert in Cardiff. We see fans making their way to the stadium, the buzz of anticipation and the band waiting backstage, building up to the famous entry of Liam and Noel onto the stage, hand in hand. When the music starts, it is like a bomb going off. No awkward interactions between the band and the audience; no carefully orchestrated build-up to warm up the audience. After sixteen years, the crowd and the band are ready for this, and it’s a palpable explosion of energy, now captured on film.
“Genuinely heartwarming”
The action doesn’t then simply move from song to song. Archive concert footage is intercut with that from Live ’25 and, in turn, is often spliced with snippets from other Live ’25 concerts. Although that may sound like a complicated mess, the result is a clever blend, perhaps a result of the directors hiring cinematographers rather than camera operators to provide more in-depth imagery. For instance, there are a number of wordless observations of fans clearly stunned by the enormity of the occasion. That the film presents scenes in this fashion is testament to the skills and confidence of the production crew. Steven ‘Peaky Blinders‘ Knight was also signed on to the project early on. He is credited as a writer, which suggests that he was a key influence in establishing themes and giving structure to the piece.
The tour moves on to Manchester, where we are introduced to Mancunian fans trying to gain ticketless participation in other parts of Heaton Park. This is interspersed with a local priest giving a sermon on forgiveness, appropriately enough. In Dublin’s Croke Park, fans also gather outside the stadium. Inside, we are given a strong sense of the brothers’ Irish heritage – and its importance to them. The crowd serenades them with a Luke Kelly song in recognition. From there, it’s onward to North and South America and Asia. In each venue, the fans are clearly exhilarated. This is a band with a real connection to their fans and – for me, this is the really surprising thing – a lot of these fans are not in their 50s and 60s, but a generation or two younger and, get this, know all the words.
Also, the production team has footage of what the band’s songs mean to fans in different countries, across different cultures and generations. We have had music documentaries that follow the fan experience. I think of Springsteen & I, where the attention is on The Boss’s superfans. We have had Oasis-related documentaries: Supersonic, where the band members, family and friends spoke of the ups and downs of the group. We also had Liam Gallagher’s As It Was, from his perspective, but within Noel’s legal constraints, preventing the use of any Oasis material.
This is different. Familiar songs, largely drawn from the group’s iconic first two albums, Definitely Maybe and (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?, unify band and fans. Every song is an anthem. The brothers are having a ball. At one point, Liam has the whole crowd perform the Poznań (a football celebration favoured in the UK by Manchester City fans), watched over by a bemused-looking Pep Guardiola in cardboard cutout form (manager of the aforementioned football club). There are touching tributes to The Stone Roses’ bassist, Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield, who died suddenly during the tour, and the victims of the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing.
Lastly, there is lots of interview footage with Noel and Liam – separately and together, for the first time in twenty-odd years. It appears that their healing took place onstage. Their estrangement is no more. It is genuinely heartwarming to see. This documentary is a celebration of the artistic value of music and how it sustains the human soul. So, dig out your Fred Perry polo shirts, your denim shirts, your parkas and your bucket hats, and find the cinema with the biggest screen and the best sound system you can – and just drink in the spectacle. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry and you will be entertained.
Top image: Simon Emmett
David’s passion for cinema began with his first trip to the movies during The Troubles in Northern Ireland, where a screening of Jaws was dramatically interrupted by a bomb scare. Growing up in such an environment made entertainment scarce, deepening his appreciation for film and the arts. Over 25 years ago, he won a national film review competition, earning free cinema for life. This experience has allowed him to explore a vast range of genres and storytelling techniques. His reviews aim to provide insightful commentary without spoiling key surprises, helping audiences decide if a film is for them. He believes great filmmaking is rooted in strong storytelling, engaging viewers through narrative depth and presentation.
