‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’ captures Oasis’s euphoria but glosses over the hard stuff

The little things that once irritated Noel and Liam Gallagher about each other have disappeared. “It’s not a power struggle any more,” Noel says in Don’t Look Back in Anger, a sentimental and affectionate documentary about Oasis’s 2025 comeback tour.

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The little things that used to annoy us about each other have all gone away.

But the film never really explains how the brothers got there. It opens with a montage of Oasis conquering the world in the 1990s with songs such as Wonderwall and Roll with It. As their fame grew, so did their hostility, until a backstage fight at a Paris concert in 2009 brought the band’s story to an abrupt halt.

Fan-shot footage shows the promoter telling the crowd that the concert has been cancelled after “a huge fight together in the dressing room.” Scottish singer Amy Macdonald, who was also on the bill, described the incident on social media: “Liam smashed Noel’s guitar, huuuge fight!” Yet the documentary does not reveal what was said, who started the reconciliation, or how the feud affected the family. Instead, it cuts to rehearsals and explains that the brothers did not speak for 15 years, leaving the impression that the wounds healed almost by themselves.

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It's not a power struggle any more.

The rehearsals offer glimpses of the old tension. Noel leads the band in assembling the setlist, while Liam arrives later and complains that soundproofing panels are obstructing Joey Waronker’s drums. “They’re already giving me the hump,” he mutters. When Liam takes the microphone, however, the room relaxes. Guitarist Bonehead, positioned between the brothers, beams. Liam later walks out during a song, prompting Noel to wonder whether “our kid” is enjoying himself.

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Liam smashed Noel's guitar, huuuge fight!

Liam says enjoyment was not the point. He has given up cigarettes and alcohol for the tour because the songs “need to be treated with the utmost respect.” When he grabs Noel’s hand and raises it before launching into Hello, the audience erupts. Fans dance, cheer and weep through the show, while one man drops to his knees during Slide Away and a young spectator remains transfixed on the stadium floor after the concert. The documentary communicates that euphoria vividly. What it leaves unexplored is the reunion that made it possible.

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These songs, they need to be treated with the utmost respect.