Review of Kon-Tiki (2012) by Walter M — 23 Aug 2015

In "Kon-Tiki," Thor Heyerdahl(Pal Sverre Hagen), an ethnographer, is vacationing with his wife Liv(Agnes Kittelsen) in the South Pacific when he has a brainstorm. Basically, it concerns the fact that the Polynesians must have emigrated from South America, not the other way around which is the currently held wisdom in 1947. The challenge as far as Heyerdahl is concerned is proving it. Which involves building a boat identical to the ones the Polynesians would have traveled in at the time of their voyage. That's easier said than done, as he when he tries to raise funds in New York City at the National Geographic where they are tempted to refer him to Bellevue Hospital. Luckily, he meets Herman Watzinger(Anders Baasmo Christiansen), an engineer, who shows him the error of his ways.

With a judicious use of CGI, "Kon-Tiki" is a great looking dramatization of the famed ocean voyage. The problem lies in the movie's length. It's not that the movie is too long; rather for once it is not long enough.(The running time on the DVD I watched was one hour, thirty-eight minutes, 20 minutes shorter than the theatrical running time.) So, while the movie focuses on the bigger, more suspenseful moments(nothing against sharks, by the way), it otherwise feels rushed. Instead, the pace should have been leisurely, allowing the story to take its time to unfold in detailing this epic voyage which does not really feel epic here.