Paul McCartney: Man On The Run (2026)
SHOULD I SEE IT?
YES
Paul McCartney: Man on the Run sheds light on the prolific musician’s struggles and reinvention after the tumultuous breakup of The Beatles.
Built around narration and archival footage, the film is a terrific historical document for McCartney fans.
Offers a story about resilience and finding your voice again when you feel as if the weight of the world is against you.
NO
You cannot help but wish the movie dug a bit deeper in exploring the emotional complexities McCartney was dealing with in a post-Beatles career.
The archival presentation is interesting, but also limits a deeper dive into its subject and the story being told.
More casual fans will want a more expansive retrospective beyond what is covered here: the 10-12 years McCartney and his wife, Linda, formed the band Wings.
OUR REVIEW
In 2025, we got to revisit the complicated legacy of a post-Beatles John Lennon and Yoko Ono in Kevin Macdonald’s documentary One to One: John & Yoko. Now, one year later, Paul McCartney takes center stage in Oscar winner Morgan Neville’s Paul McCartney: Man on the Run, documenting the time from the breakup of the Beatles to the formation and ultimate disbanding of Wings.
That two Oscar-winning documentarians have brought the two most notable Beatles back to the big screen - still intrinsically linked as arguably the greatest songwriting duo of all time - makes clear that Lennon and McCartney never lack for interest. Case in point: another Oscar winning filmmaker, Sam Mendes, is shooting separate biopics on Lennon, McCartney, and bandmates George Harrison and Ringo Starr, set to be released a week apart from each other, in theaters, in April 2028.
With Paul Mescal set to portray McCartney for Mendes’ ambitious project, we see and hear the real McCartney over the course of two informative, if not pretty straightforward hours of archival footage and audio from interviews. At nearly two hours, Neville’s film can occasionally test the patience of casual fans or viewers wanting a broader look at McCartney’s career. He seldom surprises, moving the film in a steadfast and linear progression. A tighter edit might have helped both heighten and deepen the interest levels of those who may now find this streaming on Amazon Prime.
Man on the Run is a snapshot of a little over a decade (1969-1981) where McCartney battles depression, gets married and starts a family with wife Linda, and tries to figure out his next steps following the messy public breakup of The Beatles.
In reality, the Beatles had actually broken up long before fans knew it, as Lennon had quietly left the group in September 1969. However, it was McCartney who bore the public’s disappointment, anger, and emotional outbursts when he announced he was departing the band in April 1970. With everyone believing he was the catalyst for breaking up the band, and just 27 years old, Paul “disappeared” with Linda and relocated to a farmhouse on 183 acres of land in Scotland and shut himself off from things for awhile.
Neville touches on the “Paul is Dead” hoax that took hold in 1969 (rumors swirled that McCartney died in 1966 and that the Beatles were sharing clues in their subsequent album releases), as well as McCartney’s uncensored views on Beatles’ manager Allan Klein. Ultimately though, Neville finds his vulnerability when McCartney steps out as a solo act for the first time.
Releasing the lo-fi, stripped down “McCartney” album in 1970, critics panned it and sales were viewed as a disappointment. “RAM” followed in 1971, with Linda taking a more prominent role. Though it produced his first solo #1 single in America, “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey,” critics were still not impressed with his solo work.
A decent amount of the film explores McCartney’s efforts to create something that rivaled the once-in-a-lifetime success he had with The Beatles. Wanting Linda to be a part of his next project, Neville presents McCartney’s decision to form a new band, Wings, as something of an out-of-the-blue surprise.
Throughout Man on the Run we see the highs and lows and revolving door of band members that defined Wings in the 1970s. The McCartneys, along with former Moody Blues member, Denny Laine, remained the constant and proved instrumental in many of the six #1 hits the band experienced in the 1970s.
At times, Man on the Run feels like it could be more. With its workmanlike pace and steady gait, the movie tells its stories effectively. Yet, it never feels like we answer the question of whether McCartney truly moved past the emotional toll that The Beatles break-up had on him. Partially, this feels stifled from the use of pre-recorded narration and archival footage, limiting how deeply Neville can explore McCartney’s inner emotions. While the movie feels a bit constrained by structure, Neville and McCartney do see this story as a tale of reigniting your creative spark, taking risks in the face of adversity, and overcoming the stigma that you will never be as great as you once were.
Without any “talking heads” in the film, perhaps the most intriguing voice we hear is that of John and Yoko’s son, Sean Ono Lennon, who offers emotional depth and perspective behind just how he and his dad felt about Paul amid tensions and an acrimonious relationship. Sean is very clear that he has love and admiration for McCartney, and even defends McCartney’s infamous “Drag, isn’t it?” comment to a reporter seeking a soundbite on his thoughts on Lennon’s murder.
As things went, Wings extended McCartney’s star power into the 1980s, leading to massive chart-topping hit songs with the likes of Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson, and big success as a solo act.
Perhaps that’s for another movie.
A thoughtful examination of resilience, even if it generally plays things safely, Neville and McCartney present Man on the Run as a tale of recovery and reinvention. Through all the ups and downs experienced by McCartney in his post-Beatles haze, he finds his voice again. With Linda walking beside him every step of the way, McCartney returned to prominence and remains, to this day, one of the most fascinating personalities in music history.
CAST & CREW
Featuring: Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney, Sean Ono Lennon, John Lennon, Denny Laine, Chrissie Hynde, Mary McCartney, Stella McCartney
Director: Morgan Neville
Release Date: Februrary 19, 2026 (theatrical); February 26, 2026 (streaming)
Trafalgar Releasing | Amazon MGM Studios