Life on Our Planet review: Marvelous visuals can’t save this tiresome series

Life on Our Planet explores the four billion-year journey of life on Earth. The docuseries is now streaming on Netflix.

Story

Narrated by Morgan Freeman, Life on Our Planet tells the story of life on planet Earth. Governed by three fundamental rules — evolution, competition, and mass extinction — the planet has seen the rise and fall of numerous species for four billion years now.

The series traces how life began on Earth, which used to be an uninhabitable planet. Even after the planet became habitable and life took root, several species faced extinction owing to the five mass extinctions.

In eight episodes, the docuseries explores the most important milestones in the history of life, from the first species that ever existed to life as we know it today, but not without giving a cautionary message in the end.

Positives

The series uses CGI to recreate every event that is narrated, and the result is remarkable. The audience gets to witness the wonders of nature, extinct species are brought to life, and mass extinctions and hunts are made to seem too real, thanks to the amazing visuals.

The docuseries highlights the ever-present warfare in nature; either a species is fighting with its own kind or with other species for survival. There are times when the hunts depicted onscreen will keep the audience on the edge of their seats. 

Negatives

Initially, the docuseries is interesting, but that does not last long. It is filled to the brim with species hunting their prey, and that is not enough to hold the audience’s attention for eight episodes.

The narrative is too muddled and not as educational as one would expect. The mentions of what will come later disrupt the linear narrative and confuse the audience, leaving very little scope for learning.

While Morgan Freeman’s performance is faultless, the script uses his voice more than necessary. Furthermore, it is littered with repetitive phrases that can get quite irritating.

The docuseries tries to make everything seem too grand and extraordinary. When it is done to every single thing that is included in the series, even the important events end up losing their significance.

Verdict

Life on Our Planet is a nature documentary that one should watch for the visuals but not if they want to learn. It can get very tiresome, and the audience would not want to watch it when there are many better options available. 

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