As a political thriller, "Navalny" works quite well, but as a documentary, the film falls short in my opinion. At almost no point does director Daniel Roher succeed in establishing the necessary distance from Alexei Navalny. Because of that, the film kinda looks like propaganda. You also don't learn anything about Navalny that you probably didn't already know. That is too little for a documentary with this title. The protagonist doesn't even come across as likeable; in fact, he seems like a radicalized narcissist in many places. The film is also very manipulative.

All of this is particularly unfortunate because Navalny is a fascinating character. The Kremlin critic is currently in prison in Russia on the flimsiest of grounds and may never get out. So it's clear that his work has touched a nerve with Vladimir Putin. This is also evident from the assassination attempt against the opposition politician. By far the best part of this documentary is the investigation into this crime.

In the end, though, I didn't learn anything that I didn't already know from numerous media reports. Everything concerning Navalny has already been covered by the media in such a way that the film offers nothing new. But as I said, as a political thriller, I can recommend "Navalny." The entertainment factor is definitely high. The overall production is also very competent. With a somewhat healthier distance from the subject, however, the documentary could have been much better.