A sizzling storm of controversy is brewing around Force of Nature, the new nature documentary series that's left audiences awestruck and critics hot under the collar. This six-part extravaganza, the result of three years' hard graft from its producers, sets out to put a spotlight on the devastating impact of extreme weather on our planet's precious wildlife. From owls battling against prairie storms to cheetahs navigating treacherous floodwaters, this is nature documentary like no other – think Planet Earth, but turbo-charged.
Narrated by none other than British thesp Andrew Lincoln (he's best known for his stint as Rick Grimes in The Walking Dead), this cinematic spectacle presents a stark, unflinching vision of animals fighting back against the fury of the elements. Imagine elephants ploughing through churning storm waters, lizards clinging to flailing plant stalks, and the heartbreaking image of a polar bear adrift on a melting ice floe – it's an unholy trinity of drama and pathos that'll leave you breathless.
But not everyone's been won over by Force of Nature's dramatic approach. Some have dubbed it a 'disaster movie' for the small screen, with its thunderous soundtrack and over-the-top narration – courtesy of Lincoln's emphasis on key words – being accused of sacrificing subtlety for spectacle. The critics say that this hyper-emotional style undermines the serious message at the heart of the documentary: that the climate crisis is very real, and it's happening now.
Yet despite these criticisms, the visual aspects of Force of Nature have been widely praised – its cinematography is described as 'tremendous', capturing the raw power and awe-inspiring majesty of weather phenomena in a way that's both breathtaking and deeply unsettling. Take, for example, the record-breaking floods in Kenya's Maasai Mara national reserve, where two cheetah siblings are forced to cross a treacherous river to find food – it's a heart-stopping sequence that'll leave you gasping.
Ultimately, Force of Nature raises crucial questions about how the climate crisis is portrayed in media. Is this documentary series galvanising audiences with its depiction of animal resilience, or merely entertaining them while avoiding the tough questions? Whatever your verdict, one thing's for sure: this is a challenging, thought-provoking view of animals as 'everyday victims of a human-made disaster' – and it's not going away anytime soon.