[13] A negative review from The Stranger's Christopher Frizzelle advised potential viewers to "run in the other direction" due to the poor choreography and dull interviews.

[16] A complaint of several reviewers[17] was the lack of uninterrupted musical performances, with interview clips cutting short the live footage.

[18] Comparisons with the 1984 Talking Heads documentary Stop Making Sense were inevitable[19]—The Seattle Times even dubbed this a "sequel"[20]—and reviews universally found the former film to be stronger.

[16] For instance, View London considers Ride, Rise, Roar entertaining, but "not on the level of classica rockumentaries", whereas Stop Making Sense is "generally reckoned to be one of the best concert movies ever made.

"[21] Time Out Chicago's assessment of Hillman Curtis acknowledges the "challenging position" that he was in by being compared to Jonathan Demme's direction, but sums up the review by calling the film "a very satisfying experience.