The History of the World in Two Hours is an ambitious title, a provocative one if the world is of interest to you. Although, the title is a bit misleading, it spans 13.7 billion years and covers the birth of the universe as well as the history of the world. That’s a lot of information to attempt to present to a viewer and though most of it is entry level and easily accessible, it feels a little crammed. It can be flowing but there were moments where it jolted to its rather abrupt and seemingly rushed ending. It is interesting but the cheesy narrative can sometimes be hard to handle; the narrator tries to add drama and tension to the birth of the universe and it feels out of place. The cut to interviews are interesting although there are a few annoying metaphors in an attempt to explain the mysteries. It has seemingly been a negative review so far but it was enjoyable and informative with it being a tad shallow.
The quality of the Blu-ray is fantastic and there are nice crisp shots and some rather impressive CGI for the History channel – the construction of the Manhattan Bridge, which is used a lot, is particularly impressive. The quality of some of the shots are quite jaw dropping and well shot. The CGI does have its rather distracting moments and tedious moments. Another thing that shouldn’t happen is the constant bring up of the fact it is two hours long and the history of the world; the titles have rolled and we all know what it’s about and it wastes the precious time it has with unnecessary bragging of the fact it’s only two hours long. On the whole though, the narration is clear, concise and, most importantly, informative – even if refreshing what you already knew or teaching you for the first time, there’s a lot to pick up.
Another problem is that it’s supposed to be the history of the world in two hours yet its running time is only 88 minutes because of the advert breaks it had when it aired. Now, the title is even more misleading than before, falling 32 minutes short of its supposed 120 minute lecture. Another shame that they couldn’t have added more to it for its official release and fill in the gaps that could’ve made this a great documentary. It’s enjoyable and although it’s not the most detailed, it’s intriguing enough to hold your attention for the duration and even linger in your head and provoke thoughts about the madness of the universe and how fast the human race has progressed in comparison to the patient creation of everything else. It can even make you think where we’d be at now if the Christian Dark Ages hadn’t taken place.
[Rating:3/5]
Extras: There are none at all. A shame as some of the interviewed would have a lot to talk about.
