The 11th Hour

This very insightful documentary is not about the death of the world. Those whom extol such are, in my opinion, foolish dramatists. Rather, it is about the death of our species.

DeCaprio excels in bringing forth the intelligentsia who bring not only educated opinion but factual data. Facts show the Earth is suffering from the abuses of people. And the greatest abuses come from the largest and most technological countries. Yet, some of the worst abuses come from small, undeveloped countries too poor to encourage environmental regulation.

With all the pollution of land, sea, and air, we as people will ultimately succumb, unless we take great action to replace what we remove, or accept our need to find alternatives.

Global warming may be real or not. I haven't been around for a hundred thousand years or so, so I can't really say. In my oh so short time on this planet, I feel I can say one thing and that is we sure are doing a lot more to hurt ourselves, and this planet, than help.

Five stars for The 11th Hour.

Although it deals with many of the same issues as Al Gore's Oscar winning documentary from last year it lacks some of the style, presentation, and gravitas the former VP exudes so easily.

Still, for what you get it's a pretty good film, though the second half is far superior to the first.

The documentary, as narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio, goes into detail of what's wrong with our world, what changes and challenges our generation must accept, and how close we are getting to the point of no return. The first half of the film deals with the destruction and disasters happening all over the globe and comes close, though it never steps over the line, of using the kind of scare tactics many, wrongly, accused Gore of. The second half of the movie deals with what we can do, technology that currently exists and new technology that's on the way. As the film gets more hopeful, peers into the future, and presents amazing opportunities and challenges, it becomes moving and quite powerful.

I'd give the first half of the film a 6, the last half a 10, and so I split the difference and gave it an 8 overall.

If you enjoyed this film and want more you should check out other recent documentaries like An Inconvenient Truth and Who Killed the Electric Car?, both from last year.

Go to RazorFine Review to read my full review for this film, and the others listed above.

Kudos to Leonardo DiCaprio for putting his time and money into this outstanding documentary.

Let's face it, any informed/intelligent/objective person already knows that we're on a greased path toward species extinction and that we must "change course". "The 11th Hour" is an excellent vehicle for increasing the numbers of folks in that category (...and for reinforcing the knowledge base/commitment of those who think that that they "already know this stuff").

"The 11th Hour" goes way beyond simply pointing at problems. This wonderful documentary provides a fairly sharp focus on practical/viable solutions and serves up some inspiring/motivating ideas/insights.

The use of captivating cinematography and stunning images make for a powerful impact.

I hope that the production company releases a book that details/documents the observations/assertions/conclusions of film's experts. Such a volume (if done well) would serve as an excellent part of any school curriculum.

The 11th hour is a must see if you...

...care about whether or not there is a human race around in the next couple of hundred years.

...care about the quality of life for your children and their children over the next 50 years.

...are a young person who expects to be around for the next 60 to 80 years; then this is all about your future.

As one watches "The 11th Hour" it becomes painfully clear that it doesn't matter how rich or powerful one may be; there can be no escaping the inexorable consequences of the indefensibly insane/unsustainable global industrial/economic model; a model clearly based on little more than short term greed.

As effective/good as "The 11th Hour" is at conveying factual data in a way that holds your attention....it could have gone in a totally different direction.

A dramatic feature film needs to be made that more fully captures/documents the emotional and existential impact of the consequences of current environmental policies: a kind of "Erin Brockovitch" of Global Warming/Climate Change. Clearly, this isn't the last word in this genre.

This is not a crisis that is "out there" in some vague future. Real people's lives are being destroyed now. There are many millions of "canaries in the coal mine" of our biosphere for whom climate change is life and death issue in the near term.

Bottom lines: "The 11th Hour" is a powerful documentary that manages to alarm without fear mongering and to paint a bleakly honest picture without engendering hopelessness.

Go see/support this movie. The last half hour alone (which deals very positively with aspects of the political dimension) is worth the price of admission.

The best thing about this film was the fact that it did not focus on the Earth's destruction, but on man's eventual demise as a species. The earth with survive our rape and plunder. It has been here for 4.5 billion years, while we have been here but 150,000. We will eventually join the 99.999% of the species that have lived on this planet and who are now extinct. How quickly we join them is up to us, but we will eventually go the way of the dinosaur.

Through our heavy consumption and trash creation, we are rapidly stripping all of the resources from the Earth and polluting what we don't consume. Soon, we will be faced with the inevitable - it's all gone. If you haven't seen "A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash," then it should be on your list as a "must see." Along with "An Inconvenient Truth," this film tells us what will happen if we stay the course.

The only fault I found in the film was the rapidity with which it presented information. This stuff needs to be digested slowly, and we got it rapid fire. Still, it is an important addition to the story of humankind and how we are planning our own destruction.

This is a wonderful and important documentary. The film is full of terrifying images and fascinating interviews from some great minds. But, luckily, it does not spend too much time making its case about our destruction. After getting the viewer sufficiently terrified, the film shifts its focus to the causes of the problem. The film also inspires viewers to go out and make a difference (and tells them how).

Of course, comparisons will be made to An Inconvenient Truth, so I'll cover that too: it's clear that this project was always intended to be a film; it didn't begin as a PowerPoint presentation. It also doesn't waste time with a biography of it's narrator. But, most importantly, it's got a better mix of fear and inspiration; DiCaprio's film made me want to change the world.