‘Who Killed the Montreal Expos?’ (2025) Netflix Review - A Boring Sports Documentary

For those who know about the Montreal Expos, this documentary may answer some of your questions about the former baseball team. However, for those of you who are unaware, this documentary will help you gain knowledge of the team, but not much. The Montreal Expos were a very successful baseball team that played from 1969 to 2004 in the National League. It was Montreal's only MLB team. It won most of the games and had a crazy fan following. However, post the conclusion of the 2004 season, the owners decided to move the franchise to Washington, where it became the Washington Nationals.

At the start of the documentary, we are shown clips of the players during their season-winning. We see the fans screaming, jerseys being sold, and whatnot. We can literally see the impact the Montreal Expos have had on their fans. The 1994 season also felt like their year until the players' strike stopped the game. It is at this point that we see chaos. There are many issues that the team faced. From the financial crisis to issues of ownership and mismanagement, the team faced several challenges. Poor marketing also contributed to the gradual downfall of what was once a highly regarded and celebrated team. Even the Major Baseball League’s lack of interest in smaller contracts also had an adverse impact. 
The documentary, like any other, relies on interviews with former players, their team mascot, and a journalist. Additionally, we see all those who were even related to the team come forward to give us their thoughts and views about the happening.

So all in all, the documentary is complicated. If you are someone who doesn’t know much about baseball and MLBs, you might find it hard to understand what exactly is happening. It doesn’t give us the clarity that we need. Also, the pacing is so slow that at one point, you will naturally feel the urge to skip the scenes. There is no sensationalism in the news. And mind you, it is big news. However, the way it has been presented to us is more in the way of a sob story. Yes, it is sad that a great baseball team had to suffer. Yes, it is sad that fans were left heartbroken. We are shown the clippings from the 2004 final match too. But none of it leaves an impact. There should have been a balance of it being a sad happening in the history of baseball, at the same time, how important and burning the news was. But none of that is shown. So what are we left with? A bland plot where it seems that everyone is giving clarifications for what happened. And honestly, after so many years, if this is a show, the makers will opt to make a documentary; it doesn’t even make sense. For those who are new, you will be left confused and probably with a feeling that nothing really happened. Much of the business side of the sports industry is not explained well, and the creators of this piece missed an opportunity to address that. I would recommend skipping this unless you already have some knowledge of the events discussed. Other than that, there are aspects that will irritate you while you get down to watching.

Final Score- [3/10]
Reviewed by - Neerja Ch
Follow @NeerjaCH on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times