I SAW BILLY IDOL SHOULD BE DEAD

Billy Idol Should Be Dead is a revealing biodoc on the perennial, 1980s icon, which for all intent, acts as an effectual Jekyll and Hyde variant. 

Director/coproducer/writer Jonas (Metallica Saved My Life) Ackerlund performs an honorable service by bringing Idol's amazing and arduous tale to the screen, detailing the individual behind the idol, William Broad, a once eggheaded chap who allowed his wild visage to control his life. 

Drugs (i.e. the continual consumption of ghastly formulas) pressed the matter, and their dire consequences are emphasized via vivid, animated segues, but Idol's present presence, juxtaposed with archival Generation X and MTV segments, puts everything in perspective. We see a man who tried to please his father, Bill, while being nurtured by his mother, Joan, who met some who cared and many who didn't, nudging him ever closer toward a demise comparable to Robert Louis Stevenson's tragic protagonist/antagonist. 

Idol's plethora of ups and downs are relayed through his family, friends and various associates, though his long-time girlfriend/"spouse," Perri Lister (the fetching bride of "White Wedding"), dominates much of their relationship's maddening extremes, and therefore, molds the movie's narrative as much as he. 

A portion of the movie covers Idol's motorcycle accident (around the time of Charmed Life's completion): a harrowing turn that not only limited his presence in Oliver Stones' The Doors, but prevented him from becoming the T-1000 in James Cameron's Terminator 2. (Genuine, test footage of the latter is featured.) On this basis, the prospect of Idol having become a major movie star (and there's no doubt that he was pitch-perfect for cyberpunk cinema) can't be ignored. However, per the narrative, the opportunity's loss wasn't the fault of off-the-cuff luck, but rather Idol's rambunctious antics and questionable pacts, which made him his greatest foe. 

The film also explores the possible prompts that inspired his debilitating paths, insinuating that his father's tough love may have been an overriding motivator, but it's a hard sell. In contrast, Idol's comebacks are uplifting (with his later, family relations being a redemptive highlight), but they never justify or eclipse his regrettable choices, and to his credit, he never asks for pity or forgiveness. 

Billy Idol Should Be Dead works as a warning and a testament to perseverance, despite life's devilish pulls. It's a parable on how virtue overcomes indulgence, marked by heartbreaking, behind-the-scenes insights that some may have suspected, but few in the public knew. For fans of the man, Billy Idol Should Be Dead is essential, honest-to-the-core viewing and can be accessed through Hulu/Disney+.