Smashbomb

Our Planet

2019 | Documentary

8.5

(17 Ratings)

TV Show Rating

Well done but isn't harsh enough

You've got to hand it to them, Netflix really know what they're doing. Everyone knows you can't go wrong with a David Attenborough documentary, so it's very smart of Netflix to get him to narrate their nature documentary.

Visually, this documentary is stunning and absolutely flawless. To the point where the picture quality in some scenes looks that sharp and defined that it almost looks fake. Having the episodes focus on specific areas of the planet is a good move although because of this it only touches briefly on certain species and circumstances without going into too much depth. And it wouldn't be a nature documentary without some truly heart wrenching scenes (the flamingos and walruses especially) and also some wonderfully adorable scenes too (the otters)..

This documentary series main aim is to highlight what we're doing to ruin our planet and how it's affecting the wildlife. It definitely does this, but I dont think it does it very well. It touches on these issues but even with David Attenborough's sombre narrative, it never comes across as harsh enough. Despite the message, the score and scenes used in the episodes come across as far too positive and upbeat and it comes across as a little confused. Yes there are some positives with some parts of the planet and wildlife recovering, but this is only the minority. This should have been a hard hitting bleak no holds barred documentary about the damage we're doing to our planet, and it just isn't. When it comes to the damage that's being done to nature, it shouldn't be sugar coated.