Lost in the Arctic (2023) User Reviews

More like a scam / clickbait

[serkan-capkan · 4/10 · 31 August 2023]

Both trailer and the beginning of the production gives a feeling that something has been discovered, the reality is, It's a documentary of unsuccessful expedition. All with respect It's a great adventure and I would love to be part of, but necessarily deserves to be a good or a documentary.

It could be a better production if it was produced and advertised as "following Franklin..." story, following the same route, visits the same sites etc. But until the very last minute Mark says "almost there, we're close erc" like in a very low quality TV series. The thing is, the people watch this kind of documentaries won't buy this technics.

Finally, sorry guys, great effort and very difficult expedition, I really respect, but the movie/production story is a failure.

Melodrama and Naivety, Beautifully Shot

[WePerished · 4/10 · 29 August 2023]

Was great to see such beautiful footage and exploration on the island. But it was melodramatic. And the idea that the entire mystery will be solved by finding the "tomb" doesn't seem plausible. Many survived well after Franklin died (years?) so the tomb could not possibly reveal everything that happened. It could only ever be part of the story. Yet Gross says at the end "we find one thing, we have it all". Just seems like everything is pinned on finding this mythical 'tomb' which will conveniently solve everything. It doesn't seem realistic and doesnt reflect the wide range of evidence that is out there to be recovered, including on the two ships, Inuit testimony etc. And wouldn't the ship's log be passed to Fitzjames rather than buried with Franklin? Diaries maybe but I doubt burying the log was protocol? But the filmmakers just repeat this stuff seemingly without considering these basic questions. It is odd the film is so singularly focused on this all too convenient catch-all holy grail and it just comes across as naïve click-bait filmmaking.

A big nothing

[bthrock · 2/10 · 28 August 2023]

This special-ostensibly about the discovery of the grave of Arctic explorer John Franklin, of the ill-fated Erebus expedition-ends up being nothing but footage of guys sailing a boat and getting their ATVs stuck in mud. One guy goes on and on about a long-ago flight on which he saw rocks that are certain to mark Franklin's grave, which is certain to contain log books (and even photographs) that will solve mysteries. But they find NOTHING new, and the whole show consists of footage that should have been a five-minute prelude to the story they expected to tell. Worst of all, they pat themselves on the back for how their quest for answers is nobly honoring the expedition victims, while also exploiting those victims by showing explicit footage of the thawing and examination of three corpses from graves (not Franklin's) previously discovered on a different trek. The only value is that you get to see the actual terrain in places where the expedition members may have trod, but it's totally irrelevant to the Erebus story since the sun is blazing and the boggy ground is thawed to the point of soupiness.

Something of a waste of time

[WhatsInAUserID · 3/10 · 28 November 2023]

This is a really odd documentary to release, because it starts with lofty goals and lots of enthusiasm that they're going to find Franklin's tomb... and they basically find nothing. Almost nothing happens in fact. A bunch of guys sit on a boat, then drive around on quad bikes, then give up. The end. There are no revelations and no big discoveries. They're not even a particularly engaging group of people, so it's not like it's fun to just hang out with them for 45 mins even thought they don't achieve what they set out to achieve. Like I said, this is an odd thing to release as a one off documentary.

A real stinker

[jill-303 · 2/10 · 22 November 2023]

"COOL." "WOW." We were totally unfamiliar with Mark Synott, but now that we know the name, we'll assiduously avoid anything he's associated with. I thought we were dealing with a California stoner who arranged it all and cannot believe Nat'l Geo actually had anything to do with this trip. It truly was a big nothing burger.... except for finding the tent peg. That was cool. Much rehashing of how Franklin probably would have been smarter to accept help from the native Inuits, lots of maps, and a brief worry about being caught up in the ice in a small sailboat. There was much unintended laughter, thinking of how much easier these guys had it, with the possibility of also being airlifted out.

Call me (them) crazy...

[kcrjmgc · 3/10 · 2 December 2023]

...but couldn't Google earth have easily solved this mystery? Nat Geo did a great job with the filmography and the story is compelling but this short documentary just didn't deliver. If the expedition wasn't a success give the viewers some more insight, this story speaks of fear, cannibalism, and much more mystery that almost seems intentionally disregarded. I'm no great explorer myself but Google earth may be a wise place to start the search- 30 square miles and a prominent rectangular structure. One more thing, as an explorer you should be well versed in the tools you're going to be using during a once in a lifetime expedition. For the explores to be driving an ATV for the first time just seems careless.

Don't waste you time

[dean-mcmillan · 2/10 · 2 November 2023]

This is yet another National Geographic flop. The initial premise is to set out on an adventure to discover the truth of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, which went missing in the arctic circle in 1845.

Initially it seems we're looking for the lost vessels. But after a rather too long intro we discover the real search is for the remains of the expedition's leader, Captain John Franklin. This is because the "lost" ships' wrecks were actually discovered in 2014 and 2016, with no sign of any crew.

It is described my maritime historians that the grave of the captain will "undoubtedly" contain his diaries and papers and therefore reveal everything that happened. So now we are searching for the grave of a man based on a sighting of an unusual rock formation from the air, but never fear, it's only in a 30 square mile area - it's s done deal!

Not so fast! The explorers get to the search area and smartly deploy a drone to photographically map the area. Unfortunately they spend the next 8 days looking and not finding anything, instead fighting mud, rocks, breakdowns and general nothingness, only to head home. Personally, I wonder if the guy got eaten by a polar bear and there are no remains....

What this documentary does provide is some stunning scenery of the Arctic, but little else sadly.

So the end result is - nothing! 2/10.