Directed by Jimmy Chin, Natalie Hewit and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, in 1915, the ship Endurance sank near Antarctica. Explorer Ernest Shackleton and his crew miraculously survived. In 2022, the ship was discovered, some 3000m beneath the water’s surface. Documenting contemporary polar explorers and drawing on original expedition footage preserved and restored by the BFI National Archive, Endurance is an inspiring celebration of scientific curiosity and the indefatigable human spirit of discovery.

The easiest way to sum up Endurance would be that it feels along the lines of a made for TV or Netflix documentary, in the sense that the information is undoubtedly interesting but its lacking that extra spark. A lot of that stems from the fact that it’s exploring danger, peril and a genuine life or death situation, where the survival takes extraordinary strength but the tone doesn’t match that. The same with its exploration of the present, the energy of its relentless experts, seeking out the ship doesn’t permeate the atmosphere of the film.

It’s also not one of its biggest strengths to be telling both stories at the same time, the constant back and forth slightly hinders both. They sadly don’t weave together very well, which is unexpected but it feels like getting more of the history first could have put more power behind the scenes of their present search. It could have deepened their passion and reasons for wanting to discover the wreckage so desperately.

As well as feeling as though it cuts itself a little short, the finale reaches the moment we’ve all been waiting for, then closes itself out fairly quickly. It feels as though there was more to explore, unless they’re hoping to make that into a documentary of its own. Although, the restoration work of the archive footage is very well done, it has a nice depth and texture to it versus the simpler style used for the present scenes.

Endurance has a very interesting story to tell and is filled with people with a fantastic drive to tell it but the style and tone don’t live up to that. It’s carried by that engaging story but isn’t building upon it, struggling to match its energy to that of its epic tale and the experts who are deeply committed to it. The archive footage is really enjoyable and even without a more captivating style, it is still worth watching, it’s just a shame not to inject it with the same passion of its subjects.

Verdict: ✯✯✯ | 6/10

Celebrated its World Premiere as part of London Film Festival 2024 | On National Geographic Sunday 3 November at 9pm & on Disney+ from 2 November