Val

Between the wave of true-crime and celebrity docs, Val in Australia on Amazon Prime Video, and in the US on Amazon Prime Video is the one worth your evening. It says what it needs to say in one sitting, no filler. Its 7/10 TMDB score, built from 229 ratings, reflects a title that consistently delivers. Worth watching in order, from the beginning — the cumulative effect is the point. Put it on tonight on Amazon Prime Video and see for yourself.

Val arrived without much fanfare and built its audience the hard way — through word of mouth. The access Val gets is remarkable — and the storytelling does full justice to it. For over 40 years Val Kilmer, one of Hollywood’s most mercurial and/or misunderstood actors has been documenting his own life and craft through film and video. He has amassed thousands of hours of footage, from 16mm home movies made with his brothers, to time spent in iconic roles for blockbuster movies like Top Gun, The Doors, Tombstone, and Batman Forever. This raw, wildly original and unflinching documentary reveals a life lived to extremes and a heart-filled, sometimes hilarious look at what it means to be an artist and a complex man. Val Kilmer and Jack Kilmer give the storytelling a level of trust that shows. It hit screens in 2021. Val lets its subjects speak for themselves rather than shaping them into a predetermined narrative. It knows exactly what it is, and does not try to be anything else.

Anyone after documentary work that genuinely informs rather than confirms will value Val. It stands on its own even without an obvious comparison point. It is a manageable watch, easy to fit into a single evening. Rigorous in a way documentary work does not always commit to. Not background viewing — it rewards your full attention.

Val was released in 2021, directed by Ting Poo. The full 109-minute film is available to watch now. Find exactly where it's streaming below, and TV Butler Pro makes it effortless to track your progress as you go. Just search the name, and Butler finds it instantly, tells you which service has it, and remembers exactly where you left off.