The film presents itself as a serious examination of Darwin and his theory while in fact it appears to be far from this and appears to have a creationist agenda lurking in the background. I say "lurking in the background" because all too often the film lacks the courage of the evident convictions of its producer and director. It points out a number of errors, or alleged errors, that Darwin made on the Beagle voyage, which is fair enough. No doubt Darwin did make errors. But it then uses them to cast doubt on such issues as the age of the earth, suggesting that it is perhaps only a few thousand years old, rather than millions, as all serious scientists accept. Sir Charles Lyell's argument that geology shows that the earth is millions of years old, has not been seriously doubted since, although it is true that he did not give sufficient prominence to examples of sudden catastrophic changes. But the film tries to argue that this casts doubt on the whole theory, which it does not. There is no shred of evidence that all continents and the fossils in them are to be explained by a sudden world-wide and simultaneous flood which submerged the entire globe. The film does not argue, in any case, that the Grand Canyon was created in a sudden cataclysm. The film however never poses the argument directly, presumably because it is unsustainable. The film also states as criticism some points which are false, e.g. that the sea shells which Darwin found high up on the Andes were not fossilized. They were fossilized, as Darwin himself observed and the samples were returned to England. The film makes some valid points about Galapagos finches, which later research seem to show are not always separate species, in the sense that their beaks change from one form to another, but back again in a number of generations. Speciation is a debate within natural selection, but if one was to take on the whole debate and cast doubt on whether species evolve at all, one would have deal with all the intermediate fossils that have been found since Darwin, e.g. archeopteryx and the many Chinese reptile/bird fossils (some of which, yes, were fakes, but most are not), and the many intermediate species between ape and man, let alone DNA evidence. But the film does not attempt this, being apparently content to cast a little doubt here and there, without drawing any firm conclusion.

I liked the inclusion of scientists from a number of disciplines, representing a variety of "takes" on Darwin's work. I was particularly fascinated to see how his work sits within, and was profoundly influenced by, a framework of earlier theories. Perhaps even more striking was the exploration of Darwin's own philosophical/religious wrestling. While proponents of Darwinian evolution today present their case as observational science, and dismiss other views as religiously blinkered, the film made a powerful case for Darwin's own springboard being his attempt to resolve a fundamentally theological dilemma. I felt the film represented a healthy and three-dimensional examination of the man and his work. It was also well-acted, and light and easy to watch, without being lightweight.

Being used to hard hitting Creation videos and presentations, I was surprised at the mild approach of this documentary. The film makers took great pains to put Darwin and his ideas in the context of the era in which he lived. This was a time when Darwin would not have been able to benefit from what we now know about the complexity of life, such as the complex protein-based machinery contained within a single living cell. This documentary clearly showed that while Darwin's ideas were not original, he did bring together his observations in a unique way. Sometimes he did not have enough information to draw the correct conclusion, and sometimes he was simply bent on showing that uniformitarianism could explain all life on earth. Yet after a lifetime of study, Darwin failed to formulate a reasonable hypothesis as to how life arose in the first place.This was a very balanced documentary, but the viewer will have to listen carefully to the arguments because the producers will not hit you over the head with the evidence showing that Darwin "missed the boat" when he sailed on the Beagle.

As one who has studied Darwinism as well as opposing views for 40 years, I felt that this was a brave and yet balanced attempt to give some perspective to the issues at stake. Darwin was not without his faults and his theory has many weaknesses which are acknowleged by honest scientist who are rabid bigots against any dissenting view. The film portrays Darwin sensitively and yet does not shrink from showing that there is credibility in the arguments which point out the weaknesses in his theory. Besides all this the film is beautifully produces and very entertaining. A must see for those interested in history and in breaking through the "politically correct" barriers that normally prevent discussion of anything contrary to the accepted Darwinist mantra.