I read in some reviews people complaining this is not a "pure" documentary, that it might have been edited to create a certain storyline. All I know is that every documentary has editing, and that clearly this one was made a bit dramatic on purpose (and that is the only reason I don't rate it 10)... but I don't care - It is excellent! It generates a wide range of feelings (good and bad) and I simply could not stop thinking about it later... It not only serves well the Big cats cause but it is also very good entertainment. Even if you are not a wildlife documentary fan, this will touch you. Please see it! It does mean it should be the only Africa documentary you should see, I've already seen other great ones, like Eternal enemies our Great Migrations, but this one is very nice complement.

As an avid watcher of National Geographic and big-cat films I was able to spot the deception this supposed "documentary" tries to pull off. My great excitement immediately plummeted when i recognized footage from other videos being inserted into this one to complete the storyline- in other words create a story where there was none.It happened numerous times, each time i was surprised how low a film by what you would think is an honorable company- national geographic- would sink to.The lack of honesty in what was supposed to be a documentary destroyed any value this film had for me. I only gave it three stars because there were cool visuals, even though the story was dreck.There are some good videos out there. Go watch Lions and Hyenas: Eternal Enemies. That will really knock your face off and you won't grow a long nose like Pinnochio for watching it.

I saw wild lions in Kenya and Tanzania in 1983, and I am very sympathetic to their plight. I hadn't known their population had decreased to 20,000, and I completely concur with the filmmakers about the issue of dwindling habitat for so many species. However, I was irritated by the anthropomorphizing all the way through this movie, as well as by the music. I wish this had been a more straight-forward documentary. In fact, I don't think the film was all that educational. For example, I had thought that adult male lions were mainly solitary except when mating, but the movie showed a group of adult males. I would have liked to have learned more about how lions really live (including an explanation of that group of males) rather than a story that was probably made up to some extent. The lions and the scenery are beautiful, but it's obvious that to tell a story, the filmmakers must have used scenes taken at other times - probably of other animals. There's no way they could have had multiple camera angles of key scenes. I also would have been interested in seeing more of how the movie was made - the final shots of the filmmakers were tantalizing but too few. I do encourage viewers to find and donate to appropriate charities that help save wildlife habitats around the world.

I was fortunate enough to see LAST LIONS at National Geographic headquarters in DC last night. It is an excellent and compelling film. Beautifully photographed and a story that will have you grasping the armrests. Just one caveat - take the PG rating seriously. Do not bring little children. Nature can be very hard and the Jouberts do not flinch from showing this side. That said, older children and of course adults will be transported. I certainly was. Though certainly the creators' intent (and NG's, too) is to educate people about the plight of lions (50 years ago there were 450,000 in the wild, now just 20,000), you will be entertained as well as enlightened.