Explorer movie review

MOVIE TITLE: Explorer

This documentary movie was released in select theaters on July 14, 2022 and is now available to stream online.

RATING: PG

LENGTH: 2 hours 20 minutes

MOVIE REVIEW MOM GRADE: B+

IN A NUTSHELL:

This awe-inspiring documentary by NBCUniversal features Sir Ranulph Fiennes, the world’s greatest explorer. Now, that might sound like an impossible title, yet you’ll agree it perfectly fits this amazing man.

He’s the only man ever to have circumnavigated the surface of the globe from pole to pole. He has broken countless world records and even discovered a lost city in Arabia! At age 60, he ran seven marathons on seven consecutive days, on seven continents…all after a double heart bypass!

Explorer tells the definitive story of this extraordinary life of adventure. It has been said that the “man has become a myth.” Watching the documentary certainly made me want to get off my couch and have an adventure!

THINGS I LIKED:

At the beginning of the movie, we see an almost endless list of Sir Ranulph Fiennes’ accomplishments. He truly pushed the boundaries of what a human can do.
The film combines amazing archive footage of past feats, as well as takes a look at what he’s currently doing in his life.
We learn that Sir Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes inherited his title as 3rd baronet, but he prefers being called simply “Ran” because he explains he hasn’t earned the title.
It’s interesting to also learn that he grew up among mostly women: mother and aunts. He admits that much of what he did in life was to become like his father. He talks of the ghosts of his father and grandfather who were war heroes, and how he doesn’t want to disappoint them.
Ran’s wife must have been quite a woman. She described herself as “just a housewife”, yet she was the impetus for many of the adventures and quite the adventurer and marketer herself. We get to see old footage of her as a young child, teenager, and wife. Sadly, they never had children together and she died of cancer. About losing her, he said, “The love was huge and time doesn’t heal it.” She encouraged him to marry again, which he did after her death. He even had a daughter who is currently involved in conservation efforts.
In the film, he criticized “packaged vacations” where tourists see all of the typical locations. Instead, he challenged people to look for something unique and off the beaten path.
He’s honest about why he goes on speaking tours: to pay the bills. His adventures were notoriously expensive and he had to raise all of the funds himself. He’s never had much money and currently drives a beat-up Ford Mondeo covered in duct tape. At the end of the film, we see a title card claiming that it’s for sale. haha
We get to see video clips of a young Prince Charles of England giving praise to Ran for his “gloriously mad” adventures.
In addition to his quest to explore the world, he auditioned to be James Bond in the movies, and can now add filmmaker to his resume!
He laments his old age and inability to do everything he used to be able to do. As the camera shows him going on a slow hike up a hill, a fast jogger runs by and he laughs, “Those were the days.” His matter-of-fact attitude about life and death is revealed when he states, “We have a time down here and when it’s done, it’s done.”

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

The film jumps around in Ran’s timeline, which might feel confusing for viewers.
A narrator might have been helpful to tie scenes together.
I wonder how Ran’s second wife feels about her tiny amount of screen time she got at the end of the film. It would be hard to live in Ginny’s shadow. Ran admits that being married again and having a daughter make his life complete.
You can’t do great things and break barriers without criticism from others, so it was interesting to hear quite a few voice recordings that pointed out negative things about Ran.
Ran has been criticized for not being more vulnerable in interviews and taking more time for self-reflection.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Kids will mostly be bored.
Several F-bombs
Talk of killing men in war
Dangerous activities
You see fingers that have been frostbitten very badly and hear how Ran sawed off the tips of his own fingers on his left hand! EEK!