Summary
Spectacular, beautiful and tragic. Our Planet is everything you’d expect from David Attenborough’s Netflix series, and hones in on the correct messages.
David Attenborough, god bless his soul, is acquiring his own Netflix gig after providing years of excellent insight into the world we live in. The message in Netflix documentary series Our Planet is an unprovoking, non-aggressive tale of how our Earth operates. With the likes of the Celebrity-in-Chief believing that global warming is a myth based on record-breaking cold temperatures, all we need is Attenborough’s soothing tone to bring forth reality, with convincing footage to back up his observations.
If you are familiar with the historian’s work, then you will know what to expect from Our Planet; a visually spectacular account of our nature, our world, and the cycles that move within the system. I expected nothing short of beautiful from the Netflix documentary series – and it is beautiful. And it isn’t just awe-inspiring from a cinematography perspective or a well-narrated direction, but there are moments we take for granted from his previous work that still hit our hearts here.
As an example of the beauty of Our Planet for this review, in Episode 1 David Attenborough describes desert land that is waterless due to the forming and location of clouds. He then switches to observe a skein of flamingos, who venture to lay their eggs in a specific place, surrounded by sand to prevent animals from attacking them to implement natural order, so their reproductive system is maintained. The flamingos need to find water, and travel miles with their babies to locate such a resource, but then one of the babies is left behind, weighed down by the build-up of the salty lands. I couldn’t trust anyone who does not find this recording heartbreaking.
But perhaps the most active element of Our Planet that seals the impressive work is the observation of our new world. The Netflix series makes the justified point that we need to understand how the eco-system of our planet works, to save it. It drives home the point that without knowledge of the reactionary natural habitat, our planet will continue to sink. Our Planet enjoys the spectacular sights that any photographer would love to document, but also gives a sobering account of the earth we at present reside in.
As a parting point, if there is ever any technology that lives that can extend life, David Attenborough should be vetoed to use it first; he deserves to narrate our planet forever.
READ: Life on Our Planet Review
