The Dynasty: New England Patriots

I was really looking forward to this, The twenty years of unprecedented success of my beloved New England Patriots, but how disappointed I was after each episode.

This Series was produced by the Kraft Family & was a complete character assassination of Head Coach Bill Belichick & a love note to "Tommy".

The Patriots second and third Superbowl victories vs the Panthers & Eagles were completely overlooked whilst the Scandals & Losses were heavily focused on.

I lost all respect for owner Robert Kraft after this, Funnily he omitted his own massage parlour Scandal from the documentary but was happy to insinuate Aaron Hernandez murder victims would still be alive if it wasn't for Belichick.

Tom Brady Love in.

Bill Belichick hatchet Job.

Kraft Mr good guy holding a dynasty together.

One day I hope for Coach Belichicks version of events.

I've only seen a few sports documentaries over the years, but I'm glad I caught this one. "The Dynasty" allows us all to peek behind the curtain and to see the rise and fall of the patriots dynasty. This show gives an inside look at how Robert Kraft, Bill Billichick, Tom Brady and company, all established themselves as champions, as well as the struggles they all dealt with over the years. It's important to note how much of a role ego plays in an arena of this stage. But it's also worth remembering that we're all human and could've made the same mistakes or choices. What's most fascinating is reliving those moments from the players', staff's, and management's perspectives. All in all it was a nice trip to the past and it was a pleasure to be part of their journey.

I see a lot of review bombing going on and I really don't know why. This documentary is exceptional and I think people are letting their emotions get in the way. If you have Apple TV+ and are even remotely aware of the NFL, this should automatically go to the top of your list.

If you are a sane, intelligent adult sports fan who watched the entire dynasty as it was happening there's no possible way you could give this a bad rating.

If you are a sane intelligent person who studied the history of this dynasty, there's no possible way you could fail to appreciate what the Patriots organization did in the Kraft/Brady/Bill era and how great it was presented in this documentary.

Quarterback is clearly the most important position in the most dangerous complicated popular sport on the planet. Quarterbacks not only have to be good at their position, but they also have to be inspirational leaders. Players have to want to be on your team because they believe that they can win. Players will play harder for them if they believe they have a chance to win it all year after year. No one transcended the expectations more than Tom Brady. He was also good enough to be a head coach in his ability to thoroughly master exactly what was going on with his own playbook and scheme, but also what to expect from all other teams.

When Brady, as a rookie, told Kraft that he was the best decision the organization ever made, he was exactly right. Not because he could see into the future, but because he knew how much he wanted to win, and he knew that he was going to work as hard as he could for as long as he could, no matter what, to make it happen. He knew he was going to do the work! And that's exactly what he did. He epitomized what it was to be the greatest player - in the greatest, most difficult and dangerous team sport - for almost a quarter of a century as an NFL player.

I loved watching the NFL when Brady was in it.

It was a great ride.

The vast majority of my football-watching life to this point occurred during the Bill Belichick & Tom Brady New England Patriots dynasty. As such, this Last Dance-style sports doc was always going to hit the nostalgic sweet spot for me. Filmmakers Matthew Hamacheck & Jeff Benedict are largely able to transcend the "nostalgia grab" narrative, however, by featuring excellent production values and one-on-one interviews with key Patriot figures that are as enlightening as they are sometimes exceedingly strange.

The Dynasty examines exactly that--the New England football dominance of 2001 through 2018. Quite literally every main event of that time period is covered through the prism of old TV footage, sit down interviews with the figures themselves, and color commentary from NE or national reporters. There will likely never be another dynasty rivaling the one created by Brady, Belichick, & owner Robert Kraft, and this ten-part series examines it all.

For the most part, I'd call this a pretty fair examination of the "Patriots Way", so to speak. They are hit hard on the Spygate scandal, the mismanagement (which led to tragedy) of the Aaron Hernandez situation, and Belichick's slide into utter arrogance towards the end. At the same time, the team's remarkable resiliency through it all is chronicled step by step.

Of course, to get the "big hitters" (Brady, Kraft family, Bill, other key players) to participate whatsoever there were a few seeming concessions made. The narrative here about "Deflate-gate" is poo-poo'd almost to minimization levels, and the elder Kraft is often portrayed as the "white knight" of the whole shebang despite off-gridiron scandals and chumminess with NFL commissioners that are never even hinted at. But all in all, a relatively small price to pay for on-the-record cooperation.

The strange--and often outright hilarious--piece of "Dynasty" is Bill Belichick's participation (or lack thereof). He does not have one insightful or constructive comment on anything asked of him. The now-former Patriots head coach simply refuses to engage--either playing to his stereotype or actually living it to fruition. As such, he is painted (rightfully or wrongfully who can tell) the villain of the piece simply due to his reticence towards any sort of candor.

Overall, I enjoyed "Dynasty" and more often than not had both Friday night episodes binged before my head hit the pillow! I can't quite give it the full 10-star treatment--mainly due to Belichick's odd presence and the Deflate-gate "hatchet job" episode--but it was a treat to re-live (through the lens of 20+ years of history) the entire saga of the dynastic New England Patriots.

A few reviewers wondered who this documentary is actually for. Obviously all the New Englanders and any Bill and Tom fans. Also, all New England and Brady haters, who are just waiting for the final episode to see the demise of the franchise without him and Bill (evidenced by their dismal record since he has left). And really, just anyone who cannot get enough of any football since the season is now over until August. Thus, it resonates with a lot of football fans.

I watched it just because I hated Brady, until he came to Tampa, and then I became an instant fan (I know, what a hypocrite). Thus, I wanted to see his emergence into becoming the GOAT that he is. Especially was it exciting reliving SB51--with that spectacular come-from-behind win against the Falcons (my team at the time--till I moved to Tampa) in overtime.

Yeah, they might be "cheaters," but you cannot win like they have by cheating the entire way. They just got caught is all (meaning most if not all teams cheat--they just have not gotten caught yet). In addition, it would not have been as big a deal had it been the Panthers (who actually need to cheat) or the Commanders.

All in all, I have enjoyed binge-watching the first eight episodes.