The Galapagos and the animals that inhabit them are truly fascinating and it is wholly understandable as to why they are very commonly covered in documentaries. Also saw 2006's 'Galapagos' as someone who loves documentaries ever since watching classics such as 'Planet Earth' and 'Blue Planet' and who likes Tilda Swinton a lot as an actress. Oh and the premise for the series, with a mix of nature, environmental and humanity, sounded very interesting.
On the whole, 'Galapagos' was a very good series, and "Born of Fire" is an excellent instalment with some very memorable images of the islands, their environmental stages and their inhabitants. At its best it is absolutely fantastic with very little to dislike about it, other than two aspects that were problems throughout 'Galapagos' and never really corrected. Of the three episodes, "Born of Fire" is perhaps the best and while there is not much that is unique some of the most stunning sights are in this instalment.
My main issue is the music. It is over loud and used too much, also not fitting that well with the tone of the series where it was trying to sound more cinematic than needed.
Some of the narration is a bit too cookie cutter and cheesy, especially when it tries to be poetic.
Everything else is spot on. Was always stunned throughout by the scenery, which was a mix of beautiful, atmospheric and uncompromising. The photography is out of this world, such vibrant colours that pop out and it's so clear and fluid. Especially the Sierra Negra and albatross sequences. Really loved the wonderfully varied animals, whether prey or predator and big or small. A lot was learnt about such a wide variety of creatures and their habits with many memorable moments.
Have seen very few courtships as magical as the one with the albatross and the giant tortoises sequence is unlike anything seen before. The erruption from Sierra Negra is jaw dropping to watch, the smoke and ash so foreboding.
While the narration writing doesn't always work, Tilda Swinton's delivery was not an issue. It is very soothing and understated, personally didn't think it one note at all. Most of the narration is very informative and thought provoking, even if there was not much that was new the execution didn't feel too been there, done that. The more environmental parts make their point strongly but to me they didn't come over as too preachy.
Concluding, excellent. 8/10.
On the whole, 'Galapagos' was a very good series, and "Born of Fire" is an excellent instalment with some very memorable images of the islands, their environmental stages and their inhabitants. At its best it is absolutely fantastic with very little to dislike about it, other than two aspects that were problems throughout 'Galapagos' and never really corrected. Of the three episodes, "Born of Fire" is perhaps the best and while there is not much that is unique some of the most stunning sights are in this instalment.
My main issue is the music. It is over loud and used too much, also not fitting that well with the tone of the series where it was trying to sound more cinematic than needed.
Some of the narration is a bit too cookie cutter and cheesy, especially when it tries to be poetic.
Everything else is spot on. Was always stunned throughout by the scenery, which was a mix of beautiful, atmospheric and uncompromising. The photography is out of this world, such vibrant colours that pop out and it's so clear and fluid. Especially the Sierra Negra and albatross sequences. Really loved the wonderfully varied animals, whether prey or predator and big or small. A lot was learnt about such a wide variety of creatures and their habits with many memorable moments.
Have seen very few courtships as magical as the one with the albatross and the giant tortoises sequence is unlike anything seen before. The erruption from Sierra Negra is jaw dropping to watch, the smoke and ash so foreboding.
While the narration writing doesn't always work, Tilda Swinton's delivery was not an issue. It is very soothing and understated, personally didn't think it one note at all. Most of the narration is very informative and thought provoking, even if there was not much that was new the execution didn't feel too been there, done that. The more environmental parts make their point strongly but to me they didn't come over as too preachy.
Concluding, excellent. 8/10.
