*"Hate to Love: Nickelback"* is a surprisingly insightful documentary that delves into the phenomenon surrounding one of the most polarizing bands in modern rock history. While it may not completely change your mind about Nickelback, the film does a commendable job of exploring why the band has been both beloved and reviled, offering a balanced and engaging narrative.

The documentary takes a deep dive into Nickelback's rise to fame, examining their commercial success and the backlash that followed. Through interviews with the band members, fans, and critics, *"Hate to Love"* provides a comprehensive look at the band's journey, shedding light on the challenges they faced in navigating their public image. The filmmakers deserve credit for not shying away from tough questions, addressing the memes, jokes, and widespread criticism that have dogged Nickelback throughout their career.

What stands out is the film's ability to humanize the band members, giving viewers a glimpse into their lives beyond the music. Chad Kroeger and his bandmates come across as down-to-earth and self-aware, which adds a layer of depth to the narrative. Whether you're a fan of their music or not, it's hard not to appreciate their resilience in the face of such intense scrutiny.

The documentary also does a good job of exploring the broader cultural context that fueled Nickelback's controversial reputation. By examining the evolution of rock music, media, and internet culture, the film offers a nuanced perspective on why Nickelback became such an easy target for criticism.

However, the documentary sometimes feels like it's preaching to the choir. It might not fully convince those who have already made up their minds about the band, and some segments feel a bit repetitive, covering ground that could have been condensed for a tighter narrative.

Overall, *"Hate to Love: Nickelback"* is an entertaining and thought-provoking documentary that gives a fresh perspective on a band many people love to hate. It's a must-watch for fans and a worthwhile experience for those curious about the story behind the band's infamy. **7 out of 10 stars**.

I can see a lot of comments stating "I never understood the Nickelback hate" Well as someone who grew up and witnessed it in real time the backlash was never because they were "played on radio too much", it all started with the cringe now and cringe then single "Figure you out" - which was misogynistic trash sandwiched between a couple of written for radio ballads, which lyrically read like theyre from another band.

If you watch this documentary you just come away with the thought that they're just a bunch of great guys who worked real hard and just got backlash because of social media hate . Might all be true, but even the reason and controversy of them firing their original drummer is completely avoided (look up wikipedia for the truth, it wasnt because 3 doors down just had a better drummer), but in this it's all hugged out and forgiven, which is such a stark gap in the story I had to go google straight away. Also the drummer has horrible facial hair, a pre request for all the Pearl Jam light bands of that era so I guess he completed things.

The first 30 minutes is very good, looking at their beginnings in a small town and extra hard hustle to be a success (a good note for anyone actually wanting to be in a successful music act - you have to put in the complete focus of hours and sweat with little return to even have a chance of taking off). But after that anything that's deep and dark with their history is completely skipped over to just continue to pump up the band's image like they dont expect any of us to google.

Nickelbacks over the top hate might have been unfair, but it was certainly earned. Maybe this doc will change things, because most people are too lazy to even google on the same phone they're watching the thing. Guess we'll see.

And with the interviews with the bottom price lawyer - he's an old man wearing sunnies inside trying to be a cool dude, even that is cringe.

So some friends of my husband convinced us to watch this documentary. I hate Nickelback but love documentaries, so we gave it a try. Don't bother with it. I still hate Nickelback and now I've got there horrible country wannabe metal songs stuck in my head! They still suck!

It was also just a horrible documentary. They didn't even discuss how they came up with their stupid band name! Shouldn't that be a part of every band documentary?

I'm also agreeing with some other reviews on how bad Chad seems as a person. Maybe standard music industry business, but he seems extremely shady, ie stealing a drummer from another band and falsely promoting your album to record stores.

This just proves to me how horrible the general public's taste in music is and I'll say it again Canadian music sucks! There's like 4 decent bands that have ever come out of that country.