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The Best Adventure Movies On Netflix 2024

Netflix has served up some fantastic adventure movies for 2024. Here are a few we thoroughly recommend...

We’ve put together our pick of the best adventure movies on Netflix for 2024 as, let’s face it, we’ve all found ourselves with extra time stuck on the sofa these days. We’re hoping these outdoorsy films and documentaries, ranging from life-affirming epics to documentaries charting human endurance, will inspire you out of hibernation. At the time of writing, they can all be found on Netflix for your immediate escapism.

So what makes a good adventure movie? Well, looking through a few of these movies, there are some truly epic tales of survival and astonishing feats of human endurance – all of which have follow the central theme of human’s hardwired passion to explore to some of the most remote locations on Earth. So take a seat, grab the popcorn, and get stuck into our list of the best adventure movies on Netflix for 2024.

Taith Galed: A Hard Journey

Release date: November 2023
Rating: 10/10

OK, the 10 out of 10 rating for this is a little cheeky… because we made the film. Still, we think it’s pretty darn good. You can actually watch the whole of this 22-minute film on Youtube for free. It shows Will Renwick’s attempt to climb every single mountain in Wales (all 189 of them) in one single solo and self-supported run with all his camping kit on his back. If you like people-defying-the-odds films, this is absolutely one for you.

14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible

Release date: November 2021
Rating: 9/10

Like Free Solo, this is another one of those climbing documentaries that’s well and truly broken into the mainstream. It follows Nepalese climber, Nims Purja, the ‘Usain Bolt of 8,000 metre peaks’, as he attempts to become the fastest person to summit all 14 of the world’s highest mountains. The record to beat? 7 years. His target? 7 months.

As well as following this incredible quest, the film also shines a light on the mistreatment of Sherpa climbers within Nepal in recent mountaineering history. Why, asks Nims, do Western mountaineers often neglect to even afford their fellow Nepalese climbers the dignity of being identified by their name in post-expedition reports?

Our Planet II

Release Date: June 2023
Rating: 9/10

David Attenborough’s soothing sounds had once only been available to hear if you had access to the BBC’s Planet Earth series which was frustratingly only free online to people living in the UK on BBC iPlayer. Now, Attenborough is available for the whole world (the Netflix world) to listen to via the second iteration of his nature documentary Our Planet II, a four-part series exploring some of the world’s remaining wilderness areas and the creatures within them. It follows the success of Our Planet I, which received widespread critical acclaim on its release and was nominated for a whopping 10 Emmy awards. This first season is also available on Netflix.

Lorena, Light-Footed Woman

Release Date: November 2019
Rating: 8/10

This here is a cracking documentary about a long-distance runner called Lorena Ramírez, a young woman of the Rarámuri, a group of indigenous American people living in Chihuahua, Mexico. Amongst other things, the Rarámuri are well-known for their long-distance running abilities, something Lorena happens to excel at.

Directed by Juan Carlos Rulfo, the film follows Lorena’s daily life in the Sierra Tarahumara mountain range, along with her near-innate training rituals, and the ultramarathons she enters around the world. Aside from winning three of these marathons by the age of 22 – and, well, being astonishingly good at running – Lorena also happens to accomplish all of this in sandals. Yep. That’s right.

If you’re looking for motivation for a career in alpine sprinting or fell-running – this might be your sign.

Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa

Release Date: July 2024
Rating: 9/10

‘Mountain Queen’ is the story of Lhakpa Sherpa as she completes her – not first, not second – but TENTH summit of Mount Everest (Qomolangma). While bringing up two daughters and surviving an abusive marriage, Lhakpa becomes the first woman in the world to achieve this incredible feat. Way back in 2000 in fact, she she became the first Nepalese woman to summit Everest and survive.

Following her life as a girl in rural Nepal, her experiences upon migrating to the USA, and her tales as a single mother working as a dishwasher – Mountain Queen is an intimate account of a woman who seeks to create a better life for her children. Directed by oscar-nominated Lucy Walker, this is one hell of a journey. (Fun fact: In 2016, Lhakpa was listed among the BBC’s 100 most inspirational and influential women.)

Broad Peak

Release Date: September 2022
Rating: 7/10

Broad Peak is based on the extraordinary life of Polish mountaineer and guide, Maciej Berbeka. Having accomplished – what he thought was – the first winter ascent of Broad Peak (8047m) in 1988, Maciej later learns he was 17 metres lower than the true summit. 25 years later, he returns to finish what he started.

With stunning cinematography and an all-immersive sound experience, this one’s pretty good at sticking to the facts while still continuing to keep you gripped. Though incredibly tense and harrowing in parts, there’s also tender moments littered throughout, and a nice bit of insight into Maciej himself.

Hold Your Breath: The Ice Dive

Release Date: May 2022
Rating: 7/10

If you didn’t already know, Johanna Nordblad is a Finnish free diver perhaps best known for breaking the women’s dynamic freediving record in 2004, along with the women’s Guinness World Record for diving 50 metres under 2 °C cold water with just a swimsuit and mask. In ‘The Ice Dive’ endeavour, however, she attempts to break the world record for distance travelled under ice with one breath. Pretty impressive huh.

While following her journey leading up to this latest world record attempt, ‘Hold Your Breath’ also takes you through Johanna’s impressive life prior to free driving, including what led her to cold water swimming in the first place. All in all – an incredibly inspiring watch.

Nyad

Release Date: Oct 2023
Rating: 8/10

Following Diana Nyad as she (obsessively) attempts to swim the Straits of Florida, ‘Nyad’ was released just last year to widespread critical acclaim and high praises for the leading performances from Annette Bening and Jodie Foster. While this swim has been completed before by Susie Maroney in 1997, Nyad endeavoured to do this without a shark cage.

With flashbacks to her early life, the film is Based on Nyad’s 2015 memoir ‘Find A Way’ and explores sixty-year-old Diana’s fixation with swimming the 110-mile nonstop swim from Cuba to Florida. It also explores the public skepticism around her age, along with her relationship with her best friend, former partner and coach, Bonnie Stoll.

Including hallucinations, stormy seas, jellyfish stings, sharks and more; this is a tale of human endurance, and then some.

Resurface

Release Date: September 2017
Rating: 8/10

Backed by research detailing the healing properties of the ocean on the mind and body, Van Curaza founded Operation Surf, vowing to dedicate his life to helping veterans find peace through surfing. Little did he know the life-changing effects this would have on Iraq war veteran Bobby Lane who had been suffering for years with PTSD and depression.

Resurface follows Bobby’s journey, the stories of other veterans and their struggles, and the unbelievable power of the ocean. A deeply moving documentary – this is a must watch.

The Summit of the Gods

Release Date: Sept 2021
Rating: 7/10

This french animation (‘Les Sommet des Dieux’) is a mountaineering adventure drama based on a Japanese manga series of the same name by Jiro Taniguchi. In short, it follows the photojournalist Fukamachi as he stumbles across a camera he suspects belongs to British mountaineer George Mallory who went missing in 1924 when attempting to summit Everest.

It’s not everyday you find an animated adventure film based around mountaineering so we thoroughly enjoyed this one, especially the intricate shots of the Nepalese mountains and the beautiful colours captured in the snow. We won’t give too much away though…but you’re definitely in for a tense ride here…