A Bear Grylls adventure might be the last place you expect to see men bonding over the value of true love, religious faith, work-life balance, and vulnerability, but this one has it.
The addition of preternaturally charming Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh to Ranveer vs. Wild with Bear Grylls alters the formula to its core, so much so that Grylls doesn't always look comfortable in his own creation. He's in charge when the usual icky creatures, threatening beasts, poop piles, nauseating snacks, and death-defying challenges arise, but his Indian companion leads the campfire chats about feelings, the nighttime cuddles, and the cliff-side prayers to the god of courage.
Singh repeatedly describes his journey as an inner one. Of course, he puts his meticulously sculpted muscles to use, and the script (and Grylls) poke fun at both his vanity and his heart-throb status.
And while every Bear Grylls adventure into the "wild" requires some suspension of disbelief, this one feels more fabricated than others. That shouldn't matter much to Singh's devotees nor to Grylls' younger adventure fans, who can spend a lot more than 70 minutes with this film if they want to explore all of its interactive options.
The movie could also serve to introduce these two disparate fan groups to each other's idols.
Read the full review at Common Sense Media.
Images courtesy of Netflix.
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