One Direction: This Is Us

First off, if you're a mega One Direction fan, then you should probably just give this movie five stars and avert your eyes from here on out. Ditto if you believe that this particular boy band is one of the sure signs of the end of days, zero stars, quit reading now. However, if you're looking for a critique on the movie itself and not just the furore surrounding the five guys it centres upon, then please do continue reading…

Just like Katy Perry and Justin Bieber before them, One Direction is getting the documentary-while-on-tour treatment, this time brought to us by Oscar-nominated director Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me). It's not clear if this is a step up or a step down in Spurlock's career, but what is clear is that here he represents nothing more than a glorified cameraman, as this documentary gets about as deep and meaningful as one of the band's fluffy pop songs.

Hey, did you know that One Direction is a worldwide musical phenomenon?! And did you know that being a multi-millionaire member of said boy-band is, when you get right down to it, a pretty good thing??!! This is about as revelatory as the movie gets, going from talking heads with the boys and Simon Cowell about their conception, then jetting all over the world to show just how popular they are, with some full songs performed on-stage thrown in for good measure. This isn't a documentary; this is propaganda, this is just another form of advertising, this is a popularity contest disguised as a movie.

There are some nice moments scattered throughout the movie: interviews with their parents are revealing of just how little they see them since they skyrocketed to superstardom, and discussions with their handlers, make-up artists, stylists and bodyguards reveal that they have the tendency to act like a pack of spoilt little shits who haven't heard the word "No" in about three years.

There's no real insight into their music, or why THEY have proved to be so popular beyond the fact that they're five attractive but empty vessels through which pop music permeates. But then maybe that's the point. As the genuinely impressive concert scenes show, their audience is almost exclusively teenage girls who are there to scream over their favorite songs. If that describes you, then this will be your favourite movie of all time. If it doesn't, you'll find it difficult to understand why this movie exists in the first place.