'How to Live on Earth' Review
Director: Fredi Devas.
Release Date: 09/20/26 [Digital]
Genre: Documentary.
MPAA: Not Rated.
Runtime: 95 minutes.
The Verdict: A Mistake
There is no shortage of documentaries about our planet. Every day or so, we get a new one; quality varies, and you could argue some are unentertaining and thus useless, but at the same time, talking about our planet is never unimportant. This is why Fredi Devas’s How to Live on Earth is an important view, not just because celebrity Benedict Cumberbatch is narrating (and participating) in it, but because it is trying to salvage whatever is left of humanity’s time on this earth.
Cumberbatch takes us on journeys from China and Mexico to the USA. He is joined by a multitude of people from different backgrounds and cultures to talk about living alongside planet Earth. Cumberbatch’s guests -as I like to call the participants in the documentary- range from scientists and chefs to environmental activists. They tackle various topics: the food crisis, animal extinction, deforestation, but it feels like just another National Geographic documentary. It has no essence, no soul. Yes, it’s educational and highly informative, and visually pleasing in parts, but it still skims over the topics it analyzes. It feels more like epigraphic cleaning than a complete autopsy of what is going on with the planet. The number of interviews is overwhelming at times, especially since the topics are not as unique as one would expect from a green documentary.
As soon as Cumberbatch’s narration stops, the film loses me. Not because it's boring, but because it has facts that sound like we’ve been there, done that. One of the biggest issues with big-scale documentaries is that they target the people with the least agency in the matter: citizens. Filmgoers and fans. But what about the real culprit? Governments and men in power who deny global warming and environmental threats? Billionaires who contribute to soil degradation, desertification, and massive emissions should be the ones obligated to watch an educational documentary like that.
All in all, How to Live on Earth reads more like a news report than a revolutionary, groundbreaking piece of documentary filmmaking. Cumberbatch’s charm doesn’t do much to elevate the redundant storytelling, but it comes with its perks. Who would pass up a chance to find a solution to live in harmony with an aching planet? Even if it’s by simply watching a documentary.
