It chronicles the recruitment, glory years, notorious time-out fiasco, cultural impact and the scandal that followed these players who are described as iconic figures in the media.

In particular, the film sparked a verbal war between Jalen Rose and Duke University's Grant Hill through the media regarding issues of race in sports and education that fueled the Duke–Michigan basketball rivalry.

[2] He notes that they were presented to the world as the embodiment of what was wrong with college sports because they wore revolutionary baggy shorts and black socks and blasted hip-hop music while talking a lot of trash.

[5] The film is noted for presenting the inside story a group of players who the contemporary media derided as thugs and villains, while enterprise rode them as a multimillion-dollar merchandising juggernaut.

[7][8][9] It includes commentaries from former Michigan coaches Steve Fisher, Brian Dutcher, and Perry Watson, and rap icons Ice Cube and Chuck D.[4] It also extends to details such as: "Howard discussing his grandmother's death the day he signed his letter of intent, to Ray Jackson talking about being 'the fifth wheel' and considering a transfer, to Jimmy King's brutal honesty about his disdain for Christian Laettner -- in somewhat unpalatable verbiage, to Rose talking about the loitering ticket he got in the Detroit 'crack house.

[12][13] The film presented the opinions of upperclassmen Eric Riley and James Voskuil when they were replaced by freshmen in the starting lineup.

There was speculation that Chris Webber did not participate to avoid questions about the timeout call in the 1993 NCAA tournament title game.

Webber said he initially agreed to be in the documentary but backed out after being told shooting would wrap up in a week, giving him insufficient time to prepare.

Jimmy King called that assertion “a flat-out lie.”[16] "Deep within the archives of the University of Michigan lie the remnants of a revolution."

[10] The week before the initial broadcast, ESPN aired clips of the film during some of its other programming; they featured the team's feelings about Duke prior to the 1992 championship game.

In excess of 11 million people watched part of the movie on one of the two original national broadcasts on the day of the 2011 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament selections.

[6] Washington Post columnist Jason Reid noted that the film went out of its way to present the inappropriate racial commentary by Jalen Rose when he described Duke basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski's recruits as Uncle Toms.

[25] Among those critical of the racial commentary was Duke player Grant Hill, who was cited in an Associated Press story that ran in major national media outlets.

[26] Hill blogged on The New York Times with a response naming a litany of Dukies castigated by Rose's general aspersions.

[30] Duke player and Michigan native Shane Battier supported Hill's statements saying, "Maya Angelou couldn’t have written it and expressed it better.

"[31] The Detroit Free Press' Mark Snyder regarded The Fab Five as a "Warts and all" depiction that was "riveting, brutal in its honesty, realistic in its language and stunning in its archival footage.

[32] Another Michigan writer from SB Nation described the film as thorough in its ability to provide the viewer with the answers to natural intrigues such as: "How was the recruiting class assembled?

[15] However, in describing the payment scandal, Webber's related legal problems and the removal of the Fab Five's banners from Crisler Arena, and the infamous timeout gaffe at the end of the 1993 national championship game at the 1993 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament the documentary was considered fearless.

[34] All of the Wolverines who took part in the production of the film described how they felt they originated the baggy shorts as a result of Rose's request.