Explorer: le dernier tepui

The overall idea was very intriguing, but quickly dissolved as you realize the main goal is truly unattainable. As the viewer, it felt like they only completed the documentary because they had put so much effort up to that point. We learn very little at all about the species discovered on this expedition and we are left with a very broad concern for the area. The final disappoint was the climbing portion. They recruited one of the most well known climbers, Alex Honnold, but we learn very little about the climbing and only hear him speak a few times throughout the hour. Overall, I really wanted to like this documentary, but everything just felt rushed and finished before it started.

A once in a lifetime opportunity with the brilliance and daring of such great men at the top of their game can NOT be crammed into 55 minutes. NatGeo has become a corner cutting 'Hack' when it comes to exploring the many visual wonders that are deserving of far more time needed to show them properly, and with the richness they deserve. Instead of really showing us just WHAT was on top of the Tepui, which I am sure is what most people were waiting for, they attempted mainly to involve us in the emotional human drama that concerned mainly the assent, and lament of it being Bruce's last opportunity to do what he was no longer capable of doing. I know that distributors of videos prefer the 90 minute-or-less variety, but NatGeo totally wasted what could have been one of the most epic documentaries ever put on the screen. It was a hack-job of almost useless visual cliff notes put together by talented, but jaded amateurs. Such a criminal waste of so many VAST opportunities is both shameful and contemptible.

NatGeo needs to put together their own distribution standards for their own channel(s) and for export, and stop following the Hollywood's superficial playbook. This should have been at least 2, to 2 and a half hours long, and that still wouldn't have scratched much of the surface, but at least it wouldn't have been an insultingly short, disappointing mess that missed its mark right out of the gate. Anyway, maybe next time...

I found this show interesting and inspiring. Could they have gone into further detail and fleshed things out a bit more? Yes. Would I recommend this to somebody on a rainy Saturday? Sure.

One of the most interesting and visual documentary i have seen, it's a really good documentary about modern day explorers which includes a 80 year old biologist and my big favourite Alex! Definitely recommend do see it.

It was a great film and Alex H is amazing. That being said, was it really a first ascent? There were many climbing shots with ropes hanging from above and camera angles from above. It also looked like there were bolts above the climbers.