Wordiezett So much average

Huievest Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

KnotStronger This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Bluebell Alcock Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

RichShep An inspiring story of the will to survive which takes us back to the "Heroic Age" of exploration. Ernest Shackleton's expedition to the Antarctic set off in 1914 on the eve of World war 1. However, they became trapped in pack ice not far from their destination, though not close enough. So began a 2-year ordeal in the most inhospitable conditions,a constant fight for survival, before the redoubtable Shackleton got his men to safety...without losing one life. Then, on top of that, the men hurried back to help the war effort. The documentaries mix footage taken by the original expedition photographer and new footage to show the picturesque yet deadly, inhospitable and unforgiving land, and tell this superhuman tale of survival. Effectively shot and beautifully edited, and well narrated by Liam Neeson, you can almost feel the cold. At the end of it, no matter how much you already knew about the expedition, you still cannot believe this incredible story is real.

hfc-1 The subtext of the film, sponsored by Morgan Stanley, Tyco and other corps, is heroic individualism, the tiresome leitmotif of half a millenium of western history. Roland Huntford, familiar to polar buffs, natters on endlessly about Shackelton's leadership qualities, and the suits at Morgan Stanley probably have everyone attending Shackleton leadership seminars. But Shackleton and the film transcend all that infinitely. As the film points out, Shackleton reversed course morally as the expedition foundered in the ice, from achieving the original heroic feat of crossing Antarctica, to getting the party out alive, to surviving. Of course a less resilient party, less skilled and resourceful, would not have survived, Shackleton or no; he picked them after all. The moral is that their (particularly Shackleton's life-long) quest for adventure and heroic deeds (the spirit of the age) was not fulfilled as planned, but he/they were magnificently successful in overcoming obstacles fate placed in their way, thrived on it, completely satisfied. The sense of deliverance on the final, harrowing leg across South Georgia, and his statement, the last words in the film, about having read the text of god, say it all.

tostinati At its simplest, this film gives you greater appreciation of the comforts that surround us every day. Car window not working? Browser crashing on you? Vending machine rob you of 75 cents? You don't have a dreaming clue how bad it COULD be. I am not sure the makers would have seen it this way, but I see this film, ultimately, as a downer. A day-grayer. After going so deep into gloom and walking around in it for a couple of hours, it has an effect on you. If you are at all like me, you sat pinched, really dreading to find out what is coming up next. Yet after seeing it, I definitely stepped out of the theater into the frozen weather, feeling warmer, far warmer than when I had gone in. It is a film that makes you actively search for the uplift; a thought-provoking experience.Ten stars. See it.

yrral-3 An exciting, amazing and deeply moving story of a heroic escape from an icy trap in Antarctica. In all, it takes Shackleton and his crew about two years to make it back to civilization. What they overcame to get there is beyond belief. This film should not be missed.