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The Year of the Yao
Metascore
62 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 11 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
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  1. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Owen Gleiberman
    83
    A skillful and winning piece of honest booster portraiture.
  2. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Wilmington
    75
    Corny as it may sound though, it's all true-except, of course, for that mythical movie last-second championship bit.
  3. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: G. Allen Johnson
    75
    A surprisingly layered portrait.
  4. Variety
    Reviewed by: Joe Leydon
    70
    Slickly entertaining documentary.
  5. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Fred Camper
    70
    Engrossing.
  6. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: William Arnold
    67
    Even if you know or care little about the sport, it's a fascinating saga.
  7. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Liam Lacey
    63
    Co-directed by James D. Stern (who made another NBA promotional documentary, "Michael Jordan to the Max") and Adam Del Deo, the story of the Americanization of Yao is determinedly upbeat.
  8. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Andrew Sun
    60
    What emerges is that Yao is a fascinating individual with great humor and modesty, as well as the potential to be one of the greats. Unfortunately, that's all we really find out about the guy.
  9. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Scott Tobias
    60
    With their fawning documentary Year Of The Yao, directors James D. Stern and Adam Del Deo unreflectively buy into the spin on charismatic 7'6" basketball center Yao Ming, but on a certain level, who can blame them?
  10. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kevin Crust
    50
    Provides little insight beyond hanging out with its super-sized star and would not be out of place as halftime filler except for its nearly 90-minute running time.
  11. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Tim Grierson
    40
    This glorified infomercial glosses over the underlying tension of a young man's introduction into a society whose materialistic, capitalist tendencies are diametrically opposed to his country's values.
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