If you're unfortunate enough to come across a review of mine for a nature documentary, I have to apologise for using the word 'thing' a lot, which is something I do. I love animals, and I love nature documentaries. But I'm terrible with the names of specific animals and locations. So I end up saying things like 'that thing that chased that thing in that place over there'.
I've yet to complete Planet Earth. I've seen bits and pieces here and there, and a few whole episodes, but haven't sat down to watch the series in its entirety. Still, I was thrilled to hear the series would return on Sunday 06/11/16.
As is the case with most documentaries with Attenborough involved, Planet Earth II's first episode was nothing short of breath-taking. Entitled 'Islands', it treats us to some amazing landscape and establishing shots. Some of the runtime is also used to present how lava naturally forms new land. Seeing the volcanic matter spew out of the ground in ultra HD is something to see.
10 minutes or so are dedicated to a specific group of animals or a single animal in an area in the world, showcasing a slice of his or her life. Each of these segments brings something brilliant to the table. There are a number of great ones, one of which involves a swimming sloth, another showing the hardship of the life of penguins in taking care of their young, and an amusing one involving a type of bird who spends days waiting for his girlfriend to arrive on a date so they can get jiggy with it. The penguin story takes up a lot of the show's runtime and it's definitely worth it. Just seeing all those animals, thousands of them, all in the same frame is just incredible.
By far the best segment is the one involving a group of baby iguanas who have just hatched. They raise their heads above the ground and make their way towards the rest of the groups towards the coast. However, between here and there lies a treacherous landscape, hiding an enemy. As one iguana makes its way across the grains, in the same shot a rapid 'racer' snake creepily follows it. Then another. And another. And tens of more. And you can see where they get the name 'racer' from, as those things can really shift. The first iguana makes it, but now the snakes are ready for the rest. The entire scene is incredibly tense. It's like a Hollywood chase scene. Actually, scratch that, it's better. Some of the shots they managed to pull off were mesmerising. It's awesome how they managed to form a coherent story from the images which in turn complements just how great the footage was in the first place. Seeing the iguanas run for their lives as the snakes give chase keeps you on the edge of your seat better than half the films that Hollywood churns out nowadays do. Some of the iguanas don't make it of course and it was a welcome surprise to see the usual kid-friendly BBC nature documentary not afraid to show a bit of blood and guts.
If I had to nit-pick about something, I'd pick the music. Though at times the swelling of the trumpets formed a harmonious unity with the images, a lot of the time it had that horrible droning sound you get from a lot of movies in recent years. Needless to say I rolled my eyes when I saw a certain name on the credits for the music – Her Hans Zimmer.
I've yet to complete Planet Earth. I've seen bits and pieces here and there, and a few whole episodes, but haven't sat down to watch the series in its entirety. Still, I was thrilled to hear the series would return on Sunday 06/11/16.
As is the case with most documentaries with Attenborough involved, Planet Earth II's first episode was nothing short of breath-taking. Entitled 'Islands', it treats us to some amazing landscape and establishing shots. Some of the runtime is also used to present how lava naturally forms new land. Seeing the volcanic matter spew out of the ground in ultra HD is something to see.
10 minutes or so are dedicated to a specific group of animals or a single animal in an area in the world, showcasing a slice of his or her life. Each of these segments brings something brilliant to the table. There are a number of great ones, one of which involves a swimming sloth, another showing the hardship of the life of penguins in taking care of their young, and an amusing one involving a type of bird who spends days waiting for his girlfriend to arrive on a date so they can get jiggy with it. The penguin story takes up a lot of the show's runtime and it's definitely worth it. Just seeing all those animals, thousands of them, all in the same frame is just incredible.
By far the best segment is the one involving a group of baby iguanas who have just hatched. They raise their heads above the ground and make their way towards the rest of the groups towards the coast. However, between here and there lies a treacherous landscape, hiding an enemy. As one iguana makes its way across the grains, in the same shot a rapid 'racer' snake creepily follows it. Then another. And another. And tens of more. And you can see where they get the name 'racer' from, as those things can really shift. The first iguana makes it, but now the snakes are ready for the rest. The entire scene is incredibly tense. It's like a Hollywood chase scene. Actually, scratch that, it's better. Some of the shots they managed to pull off were mesmerising. It's awesome how they managed to form a coherent story from the images which in turn complements just how great the footage was in the first place. Seeing the iguanas run for their lives as the snakes give chase keeps you on the edge of your seat better than half the films that Hollywood churns out nowadays do. Some of the iguanas don't make it of course and it was a welcome surprise to see the usual kid-friendly BBC nature documentary not afraid to show a bit of blood and guts.
If I had to nit-pick about something, I'd pick the music. Though at times the swelling of the trumpets formed a harmonious unity with the images, a lot of the time it had that horrible droning sound you get from a lot of movies in recent years. Needless to say I rolled my eyes when I saw a certain name on the credits for the music – Her Hans Zimmer.