Explorer (film)

Not to be confused with Explorers (film) or The Explorer (film).
Explorer
Directed byMatthew Dyas
Starring
CinematographyChris Openshaw
Edited by
  • Ben Stark
  • Charlie Hawryliw
Music byRebekka Karijord
Production
companies
  • BFI
  • Good Productions
  • Universal Pictures Content Group
Distributed byUniversal Pictures Content Group
Release date
  • 14 July 2022 (2022-07-14)
Running time
113 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Explorer is a 2022 biographical documentary film about the life and exploits of British explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes, directed by Matthew Dyas. It was critically acclaimed as a "compelling portrait" of Fiennes.

Synopsis

The film includes both contemporary and archive footage and covers many of aspects of Fiennes' life including self-amputation of his fingers due to frostbite, involvement in the Dhofar Rebellion, leading the Transglobe expedition, being booted out of the SAS, running 7 marathons on 7 days on 7 continents, auditioning for James Bond, and reflections on his personal and family life.[1]

Cast

Release

Box office

Explorer was released to theatres on 14 July 2022. It was released to video on 30 August 2022.[3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic81/100[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
The Guardian[5]
The Daily Telegraph[6]
Empire Online[7]
RogerEbert.com[8]
The Observer[9]
The Times[10]
New ScientistNo rating[11]

The film holds a metacritic score of 81 denoting reviews as "universal acclaim"[4] which includes a 3 star review by Cath Clarke for the Guardian[5] and a 5 star review by Robbie Collin for the Telegraph.[6] Wendy Ide of the Observer gave the film a rating of 4 stars out of 5, which was higher than the rating awarded by the sister paper the Guardian. She called the film a "compelling portrait" of the subject.[9]

Empire contributor Ian Freer gave a 4 star rating, writing "If it adds little in the way of dissenting voices or a different viewpoint, Explorer tells the tale of a remarkable, stranger-than-fiction life and emerges as an affecting, entertaining portrait of a true eccentric".[7] Nell Minow for RogerEbert.com gave the film a 3.5 star rating writing that the "organization of the film is distracting" however the subject is "never less than enthralling".[8]

References

  1. ^ Dyas, Matt (director) (July 14, 2022). Explorer (Motion picture). Universal Pictures.
  2. ^ "Explorer Synopsis". Explorer-Movie. Archived from the original on 27 September 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  3. ^ "Explorer (2022)". The Numbers. Archived from the original on 27 September 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Explorer". metacritic. Archived from the original on 9 October 2022. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
  5. ^ a b Clarke, Cath (13 July 2022). "Explorer review – Ranulph Fiennes on frostbite, family and James Bond". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 4 September 2022. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
  6. ^ a b Collin, Robbie (12 July 2022). "Explorer, review: a magnificently-hewn tribute to the life of Sir Ranulph Fiennes". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 26 September 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  7. ^ a b Freer, Ian (15 July 2022). "Explorer Review". Empire Online. Archived from the original on 26 September 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  8. ^ a b Minow, Nell. "Explorer". Roger Ebert. Archived from the original on 4 September 2022. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
  9. ^ a b Ide, Wendy (17 July 2022). "Explorer review – compelling portrait of adventurer Ranulph Fiennes". The Observer. Archived from the original on 9 August 2023. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  10. ^ Maher, Kevin (15 July 2022). "Explorer review — intimate account of the life and adventures of Ranulph Fiennes". The Times. Archived from the original on 26 September 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  11. ^ Ings, Simon (3 August 2022). "Explorer review: The amazing story of adventurer Ranulph Fiennes". New Scientist. Archived from the original on 29 September 2023. Retrieved 21 February 2024.