Explorer film review: Honest, revealing portrait of Sir Ranulph Fiennes
Sir Ranulph Fiennes has devoted his life to travelling the world’s most inhospitable climates. Among his credits are being the first person to visit the North and South Pole by surface, the first to cross Antarctica by foot, and he climbed Everest at the age of 65.
Using archives, interviews, and footage following the great man on a speaking tour, he recounts his extraordinary adventures as the world’s greatest living explorer.
Most interesting is the glimpse of the man himself, who navigates society almost as perilously as he does the Arctic. We hear about Sir Ranulph Fiennes‘ disdain for his hereditary titles and Eton education, as well as his friends’ frustration at his willingness to throw himself into harm’s way.
His late wife Ginny is also rightly credited as the mastermind behind his reputation, “interpreting the world” for her husband as she sought to build his sense of adventure into a career, at one point getting him an audition for James Bond. Explorer toes a fine line in terms of Sir Ranulph Fiennes legacy, showing the flaws beneath the skin but still celebrating someone who has truly tested himself to the limit.