Iron Maiden: Burning Ambition [Documentary Review]

I would have never predicted that a film on Iron Maiden would be screened in movie theatres internationally, just as I would have never guessed that the English heavy metal band would be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year. With all the undeserving, non-rock n’ roll acts that have been inducted into the Rock Hall over the years, is Maiden’s entry that big of a deal?

Released last week, Burning Ambition is a documentary that has a suitable amount of retrospective footage of Iron Maiden going back to when the longhaired hard rockers cut their teeth playing small gigs in East London’s pub-rock scene in the mid-1970s. During that era, which is the focus of the film, bassist and founding Iron Maiden member Steve Harris explained how the punk and new wave sound and fashion made it difficult for his band to be taken seriously by A&R music business types; they wanted shorter hair and spiffy clothes.

Iron Maiden 2019, photo by Charlie Steffens

Harris (a road sweeper by vocation at the time) and his mates weren’t having it. The band stayed the course and kept playing to crowds who were hungry to experience something more exciting to the senses, something heavier musically. After the 1980 debut of Iron Maiden and 1981’s Killers, original singer Paul Di’Anno was replaced by vocalist Bruce Dickinson. At this point, the film gets really interesting.

In the timeline of the film, there are a few events that are left out that perhaps would really matter to Maiden musicologists. There is also footage that has been included that has been seen elsewhere. Yet, in less than two hours, the story of the band is well-told.

The behind-the-Iron Curtain footage of Iron Maiden playing concerts in war-torn Poland and performing concerts with a full-stage production is an impressive part of the film. During the then-ongoing Cold War, there was a governmental line between Soviet-controlled Eastern Europe and the democratic West. That Maiden toured Poland, Hungary, and Yugoslavia was a brave and noble feat.

The film documents the relentless touring that would lead to exhaustion. Terminal velocity, a term Dickinson used in the film to describe the five-year record/release/tour/repeat cycle, would prove to be problematic. As well, fights, creative and irreconcilable differences, lineup changes, cancer, retirement, and staying power are well-covered in the film.

Iron Maiden 2008, photo by Charlie Steffens

A big draw of Burning Ambition is the commentary from the fans and peers. Scott Ian (Anthrax), Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine), and Metal Blade Records founder Brian Slagel describe their experiences as not just peers on the music scene, but longtime fans of the band. Actor Javier Bardem’s commentary was excessive and, at times, cheesy. The most moving testimonies are those of the fans, who are from every walk of life.

The biggest takeaway and what this film drives home is the love and respect between the band and its legions of fans: connective tissue that can’t be severed and sold out.

Director/Producer: Malcolm Venville
Production Company: Iron Maiden Productions
Distributed by: Universal Pictures International & Trafalgar Releasing
Release Date: May 7th, 2026
Run Time: 106 minutes