User reviews

Unbelievable, I have watched many documentaries over the years on natural history and climate change. But this is the nail in the coffin. The final hurrah. This should be shown in schools and so many more places for education. It's informative and really hits home on the challenges this world faces.

I've always known the message this film pushes, I've known its the most crucial thing that currently or has ever existed, I know that people are eager to enable it to happen, but I also know at this rate it never will.

Watching this made me cry. Not because it enlightened me to the reality of the issue but because it reminded me of the barbaric reality that is humanity. I want more than anything in the world for people to work solely on this issue to come as close to a solution as possible, and I Know writing this won't change anything. I'm not writing it for you. I'm writing it for me. From here forward I will be working to become a environmental engineer to perhaps come closer to the solution. and I know I'm just one person but as David Attenborough has demonstrated, as he has influenced me, it only takes one person to change the way another preserves or interacts with the environment creating a chain reaction that might just save what enables not only humans but EVERYTHING to exist.

The saddest, yet most hopeful film I've ever seen. This man is not only a national hero, he is an hero for the whole world. Made me cry, but gave me hope. Sir David, your life works will be remembered with the likes of Einstein and Newton someday, you are just as big a genius in your field as they were in their own fields. You are inspiring me to become a better version of myself. Film of the year.

'Life on our planet' not only holds the humanity accountable for the nature's destruction but also questions our very model of brazen and impudent consumerism...

And as an Indian, my country seriously needs a birth control law...

Such a legend and he tells his story (and our story) with breathtaking honesty.

We must transition to sustainable energy, raise the global living standard and we must stop our consumption of meat.

It is that simple and concrete.

I went to see this at my local cinema on Monday 28th of September the only day this movie was being shown in theatres (but is getting released on Netflix on October 4th) and it was breath taking, frightening but also beautiful as I knew it would be and more! I seriously wholeheartedly hope most people on this planet will watch this documentary and especially world leaders and government officials! Not to mention this documentary is just Incredibly educating and should be shown in schools eventually. There is zero excuse not to see this movie. ZERO! This is a MUST watch for everyone. Because we all call Earth our home and there is NO Planet B for us! There is NO denying the scientific evidence and vitally Important message this movie gives. If you deny it you are a stupid non intelligent human being who should NOT be allowed to be in charge and make big decisions on anything period! Wild Biodiversity MUST be protected at all costs for the future of humanity on Earth because by protecting it we protect ourselves as well as countless other wild animals and plants that we share this planet with!!! Please watch David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet. I Implore everyone to!

Look at the name. Look at the man. The man is the greatest, and no one else can ever compare. Humanity literally peaked with him. The word "legendary" is actually defined as: "Sir David Attenborough". Just do it please.

I just returned from the premiere of David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet, a documentary in which the man himself talks about how he witnessed many drastic changes that happened in our world during a single lifetime. As I was watching it, I often felt the need to look away, even though I knew that I would be closing my eyes to the harsh truth of our planet's decay if I did. My advice? Do not look away from this documentary for a second. It will show you seemingly irreversible damage done to this earth, but give you specific hope that'll make sure not all will be lost. It will show you that everything that has been destroyed can be rebuilt. My personal favorite part is where he shows us that this is not about saving our planet: it's about saving ourselves. Because if humanity perishes due to its own errors, life will start anew anyway. It's all about the legacy we leave behind that will determine whether our species becomes extinct... or gets to live another century to see the world rise from the ashes we created.

All in all, a convincing documentary, not with necessarily lots of new visual content, but rather an incredibly moving, personal story beautifully tied together with video footage and fantastic music.

This is David Attenborough most personal and most hard hitting documentary to date!

Rather than focusing on just the natural wonders of the world, the legendary presenter reflects on his career and highlights how the environment and natural world has changed during its course.

The impact of his stern words are heightened when you see the facts that support what he is saying. However at many points whilst what he is saying and explaining is quite frankly horrifying, it's not all doom and gloom.

In his unique way, he outlines some of the routes we can take to reverse the damage mankind doing, and return the natural world to a balanced and abundant position, which is nothing if not motivating / uplifting.

As he mentions, this is his witness statement, and never had a message from someone so important been so needed.

As he explains we have ravaged the natural world with impunity, but in order to save ourselves, we need to address and restore the naturals worlds balance.

Hopefully many people will be as inspired and awakened as I was when watching this.

David Attenborough, one of very few you can hold in as high regard as Gandhi or MLK, calmly and clearly enunciates his experiences throughout his 94 years, bearing witness to the carnage, the chaos and the destruction wrought by the populations of this world on the oceans, the landscapes and all the lifeforms we inhabit and share our planet with. He presents us with a pathway to recovery, a way to repair, to make amends. No histrionics or melodrama, a simple message, of learning a lesson, of reparation and recovery, of sustainability, longevity and perpetuity.

If, like most, it's a story and message you're familiar with, make today the first day of the rest or your life - go for it, start making the changes the future yous need you to make, to save their world, the flora and fauna, from the imminency of self inflicted mass extinction, holocaust, genocide and Armageddon. Make today the day that you decide to change your world and, by doing so, help to re-establish and rebalance the scales of nature that have been so biased and skewed by the sinister and greedy enterprises of fossil fuels, inorganic mammal and poultry production, these manufacturers and machines of chaos - make a difference today, make a difference tomorrow but above all make a difference while you still have the chance to make that difference, and a chance to make that difference count!

A final plea from the godfather of natural history and the greatest broadcaster of our time, David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet chronicles the life & career of the extraordinary figure who's best known for presenting & narrating some of the greatest nature documentaries ever made, and is unparalleled for his contribution to educating the masses about Earth's natural & wildlife wonders, and the need to preserve it in the wake of mankind's utter disregard & reckless destruction of each n every habitat.

Directed by the crew that's been instrumental in echoing Attenborough's soothing & eloquent voice all over the world, this is a documentary of immediate relevance & urgency that serves as his personal witness statement for the natural world and future generation. Through his own first-hand account, he acquaints the audience with the overall decline of our planet's wildlife reserves and what the future holds if human exploits are allowed to continue at the alarming rate they already are at, and it sure doesn't look good.

Still, Attenborough is hopeful that we can turn things around if we act swiftly and even offers solutions to restore & stabilise our planet's biodiversity. It's gonna take a collective effort from people all over the world to reverse the damage and avoid the grim & devastating fate that awaits ahead. It will take an unprecedented level of international cooperation & collaboration to address the unprecedented global crisis that we face today yet what makes it depressing is the brutal realisation that it's probably too late and we are already past the point of no return.

As often is the case with the documentaries Attenborough has presented over the years, this film itself is gorgeously photographed and is interspersed with footage of his own time in the wild in order to draw comparison to the decline ecosystems have undergone over the years. And the difference is not only obvious but it's also extremely unsettling. Attenborough himself is just as graceful as he's always been in his presentation, with a genuine concern for the increasing rate at which we are depleting the natural resources and signing our own death certificate.

Overall, David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet is another masterfully crafted documentary of bracing impact & immediacy that finds its 93-year old naturalist taking the centerstage to remind us of our role & responsibility to mother nature and how our actions can ensure the survival of not only our species but all life on Earth. Compared to the extensively detailed nature documentaries he has been a part of, this one does seem brief at mere 83 mins but it captures a more personal side of the man who has seen more of the natural world than any other, and is by all means an essential viewing.

You want to stop the destruction of our natural world but don't mention the fact that 100 companies create 71% of the worlds emissions. Capitalism encourages the destruction of the natural world and the unregulated hoarding of resources. For me the change we need to see has to come from the top, and it's a shame David didn't pursue this argument more. That being said, everyone can and should do what they can to help, but it won't be enough if the most powerful in this world don't make the changes they need to.

I was waiting in anticipation to watch this documentary. I am an Attenborough fan and have watched all his documentaries. Because I admire his work I placed my expectations high. I just wish it had said more, encouraged more, targeted some key areas of development in a specific manner. The documentary is a rushed account of our current state. The focus, I felt, from the trailers would be on solutions. But it swiftly moves through to meet a time limit. That renders it superficial. What it presents is common knowledge. Great visuals as usual though. I expected it to be insightful. Empowering individuals with the courage to act and showing them how. Clearly Specifically targeting Industries like fashion, food, the luxury cruise are imperative in the discussion of climate change and behavioural changes that are necessary to bring about this shift. Promoting conscious consumerism to individuals is essential for the well-being of the planet. It merely scratched the surface. Generic and broad comments avoided targeting specific corporations and governments. A more courageous work would have been groundbreaking. The powerful need to be convinced and coerced into adapting ways that promote a positive impact. A voice and persona like Attenborough could have made a grand impact. I felt that was sorely missed.

This film is astonishing. It serves as a greatest hits of Attenborough's career, featuring some of the greatest wilderness shots ever put on camera. It doubles as a powerful statement about the direction we've taken our planet, and examines the choices the human species has to make. I've never felt such awe, sadness and hope in the space of minutes, or sometimes simultaneously. This is Attenborough's most powerful film because it examines the very essence of humanity, and our unbreakable relationship with the world he has spent his life researching. A must watch

Really powerfull message for everybody on this planet! This film should be obligated for all the kids and adults. Rewild the world!

This will be different from my other reviews, no pros or cons...

You all just HAVE TO SEE THIS.

All I can say is thank god for Sir David Attenborough

Lets start helping future generations, wildlife

Quote - "if we help nature then nature will help us" - Sir David

Rating - 5/5

You can always expect a few climate change warnings in all Attenborough documentaries however this one is our FINAL warning that comes with instructions on how to fix it! Every human being should watch this and use this as an a roadmap for sustainable living NOW!!!

Masterpiece. If this movie doesn't change our minds and actions nothing will.

This is my first review, ever. There is no debating this. This is a must see for every capable human being.

This was a great documentary, with a rich point of view!

David Attenborough is a personal hero of mine and I must admit I've never seen him like this. I've known for a long time that we're destroying our planet and ive lived in ignorance. This documentary made me want to change and do more.

I can't help but feel like this was all very final and Attenborough is saying goodbye though, as if to say it's over to us now.

Please watch it, it's an extremely important message from a national treasure.

This needs to be shown to the whole world. What an incredible piece of television and education. It is often sad, especially as it feels it could possibly be one of his last pieces of TV, if not the last. This needs to be watched by everyone.

Let me say first, I LOVE David Attenborough, and I love that he fights for nature and wants to make a point even at his rip golden age of 90+. The footage he shows is brilliant and mostly new (due to being on Netflix I suppose). The biggest flaw in this new installment of "let's save the planet" is that his view on how humans will turn the corner and not face extinction is entirely flawed.

First we start with slashing forests down for more cattle and coffee plantations - that's not going to stop. Costa Rica is a bad example and even if they were a great example, Brazil will never stop it, Indonesia will never stop it, they prefer to grow tobacco instead of having some "useless" trees. In the end, the government wants money, the people want to earn money, not look at trees and live like hippies around them. Which is actually the problem with most of David's ideas - the governments, the corporations, they will not follow! Nature can recover, we've seen that not only in Costa Rica but also in Malaysia where they created a "fake" rainforest to see if it would turn out the same, and I don't need to go to Chernobyl 40 years after the disaster to check if nature takes back the space - I can see that in my garden after just half a year of neglect. Mr. Attenborough, nobody wants to go to Chernobyl because it's radioactive, but you cannot assume that people would leave alone free land in e.g. Oregon, for nature to grow a forest if it could be used for agriculture or new housing developments instead. That's not how our society works.

Fishing is the WORST solution he provided, enabling no-fish zones to provide spill-over to fishing. The example he made was PALAU of all places. Fact is that Palau receives almost all of their food from the US - Hawaii if I'm not mistaken - by boat. Once the boat didn't come for a month and they all didn't have vegetables for that time period. The locals all live on welfare rather than farming on their own and they all burn their trash to cause more harm to the environment. The fisherman in the documentary throws a tiny net out to catch his fish - that's not the problem anyway - it's a huge Chinese vessel coming along, ignoring any kind of no-fish zones (Palau, Tonga, Galapagos, Antarctica just to name a FEW examples, they are everywhere and will NOT stop!) and the poor fish are all gone. You cannot have this working if rogue nations like China and to many extend Japan just fish whatever and wherever they want.

Overpopulation, Mr. Attenborough, may peak soon but that's not because of society educating young women or family planning - it will be because there is no food, no space, no health care system to care for all of it. His example, a horrible one again, is that Japan stopped having babies! Well, that's their attitude, a lot of women work and don't want children, true, but they are also facing a disaster of no young generation to fill the gaps in the pyramid. Is every nation going to be like Japan? No, Europe has parts of their populating declining but that's mainly because of family planning and understanding that you don't want to have 3-4-5 children anymore. China's controversial one-child policy may actually have worked to level the population growth but I suppose nobody wants to talk about that. Does the rest of the world follow? No. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, they still have a huge amount of kids. Religious believes, no access to family planning, contribute to an oncoming disaster. Let's face it, the Catholic Church banning contraceptives is medieval.

The elephant in the room is that politics and corporate greed will always destroy our planet rather than individuals. We can recycle our trash as much as we want but BP oil spills are worst than us not having recycled our entire life. Brazil says they cannot control the Amazon burning down - I'm sure the plantation owners are happy to see new land becoming available for more cattle that make your burgers (which is horrible again because cows cause more harm to the environment than humans due to constantly belching methane, so do your part and switch to chicken meat).

Lastly, people are selfish and greedy too - let's not lie about it. Maybe you personally reading this are a kind soul, bless you, but there are enough individuals who seek opportunities to gain money, spread their seeds, exploit nature if necessary. That's going to take a lot of effort, and David is maybe trying to reach us for this point but I think he definitely failed in his approach. New York will be cleaner when we switch to renewable energy? Let's hope so!

This documentary, while initially exploring the animal kingdom and its historical context, takes an unfortunate detour into politics, completely overlooking the struggles faced by impoverished nations for their survival. It becomes evident that the filmmaker himself hails from a privileged background, allowing him to pursue his passion for animal exploration while remaining detached from social issues and poverty that surrounded him. In doing so, he places animals in the spotlight while disregarding the human element.

Had the documentary solely focused on animals, such a perspective might have been acceptable. However, by delving into political views, the filmmaker demonstrates a lack of understanding of philosophical and sociological concepts. He fails to grasp the complexities behind why some people resort to hunting animals when much of the world is plagued by hunger. Instead, he asserts his mission to raise global awareness of animal rights. This approach garners him praise and positive feedback, seemingly achieving his goal of attracting mass attention. Unfortunately, it hides or overlooks truths that may be uncomfortable to hear, ultimately creating a documentary that feels more like clickbait and populism.

I had hoped that in his later years, the filmmaker would prioritize revealing the true nature of our world over furthering his career. Regrettably, this documentary falls short of providing that deeper insight. It appears that the filmmaker himself may be unaware of the broader context. This leaves me questioning how this documentary distinguishes itself from any other clickbait video that offers a simplistic and popularized perspective on animal rights, nature, and environmentalism. One can't help but wonder what his next endeavor will entail ... perhaps an exploration cute puppies?