Long Way Round (2004–2010)
8/10
Just one long adventure
11 June 2008
Warning: Spoilers
First of all I thought I was going to see two bikies make a long and dangerous journey on their motor bikes from the U.K. to New York. I soon realized of course they had a back up team who followed them and helped them when the journey got too tough.

I got the impression that Charlie Boorman and Ewan McGregor whilst being motor bike enthusiasts did not know a lot about the engineering aspects and relied on others to help them in distress.

Some of the roads encountered were no more than tracks with deep pot holes filled with water. There were numerous rivers to be crossed, so many in fact one wonders how well researched their journey was in the early preparation of the long trip.

The cameraman who rides the third bike is rarely seen because the documentary is about Charlie and Ewan.

The warm relationship between Charlie and Ewan is felt throughout the film and the love they had for their wives and children was forever in their thoughts as they journeyed through lands which seemed devoid of people. Occasionally though they did meet families who opened their homes to them and gave them a comfortable bed for the night. Ewan remarked on the friendliness of every stranger implying that we human beings are really the same the world over despite our different languages and physical features. Food differences can be a problem at times and one can gag at even the thought of it.

The journey is very long and no more than a minute can be devoted to some of the interesting places they visited. The film is divided into 10 episodes with a large proportion of the time spent in Mongolia. The Road of Bones over which our bikies travelled snakes its way for many miles and remains as a memoriam to the millions who died while constructing it and there bodies interred where they fell.

When I set out to watch the 3 DVDs I thought I might find them a bit repetitive and may be boring, but it proved to be otherwise. The more I watched the more interested I became and I felt a little disappointed when their journey ended. It was really good sharing their trip in the comfort of my lounge chair and to hear their cries of "We made it! We made it!" mixed with a few tears when they reached the end of their journey.
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