Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
This documentary starring climber Alex Honnold and famous biologist Bruce Means document their expedition to the South American sky islands in search of new species and discoveries. Follows elite climber Alex Honnold and a world-class climbing team led by National Geographic Explorer and climber Mark Synnott on a grueling mission deep in the Amazon jungle as they attempt a first-ascent climb up a 1000 foot sheer cliff.
Explorer: The Last Tepui is a visually stunning documentary buoyed by breathtaking cinematography of Venezuela's tepui formations and the Amazon rainforest. The combination of scientific discovery with elite climbing, featuring the compelling Alex Honnold and elderly biologist Bruce Means, gives it a unique human angle. However, the narrative structure follows a fairly familiar adventure-documentary formula — the grueling journey, the charismatic climber, the race against physical limits — without pushing the genre in new directions. The ending, while emotionally warm regarding Means's achievement, doesn't deliver a satisfying scientific revelation or dramatic resolution commensurate with the buildup. Acting/presence is naturalistic and genuine but uneven. Overall a solid, crowd-pleasing nature documentary elevated primarily by its visuals.