REVIEW: Shawn Mendes In Wonder Doesn’t Always Hit the Right Note

Shawn Mendes kicked off his music career in 2013 uploading covers of himself singing from his bedroom in Pickering, Ontario to Vine. Seven years later, the singer has released three albums, with a fourth on the way, headlined three world tours and is now releasing a new documentary to Netflix entitled, Shawn Mendes: In Wonder.

The documentary follows Mendes as he travels the world on his Shawn Mendes: The Tour in 2019 and begins work on his upcoming album, Wonder. The documentary gives fans a look at some of the ups and downs of his tour, his relationship with Camila Cabello, and the creative process behind the new album. But for those hoping to learn something juicy from the doc or maybe even hear a new song or two, you sadly will be disappointed.

In Wonder remains calm, cool and collected from start to finish much like Mendes attitude throughout the doc. Many fans of Mendes will enjoy his demeanor, but, for others, it will get a little old after awhile. Mendes comes off extremely grateful throughout the doc, but almost too grateful at times. The star has worked very hard to get where he is, and he has sacrificed a lot of time and effort to make his dreams come true. But besides one moment where we see one blip in the road for the singer, everything seems too perfect. I spent a lot of the doc reminding him that he is human. He is allowed to have a break or a crack every now and then.

I was also disappointed that we didn’t get to hear more music in the documentary. Instead of enticing newcomers to explore more of Mendes’ music, the documentary only shares blips of some of his tracks. I was hoping we would get a little more insight into his creative process behind the new album and, maybe, get to hear a full song or two, but neither takes place.

Fans of Mendes are going to love this documentary. It is an hour and a half filled with Mendes’ great smile and positive attitude, but audience goers who are just getting to know Mendes, I would recommend listening to his past albums. They will give you a little better insight into who Mendes is as a person rather than In Wonder.

Grade: C