Boundless (2022) User Reviews (25)

A spectacular and brilliant portrayal of two great discoverers throughout the unexplored oceans

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 17 November 2022]

This is a glorious and impressive description of the two greatest explorers . It deals about their risked travel , their fighting against enemies and the fame that first greeted them . The men who explored the unknown seas is shown in all his flawed complexity in this series . Magellan is well portrayed in a good acting by Rodrigo Santoro and Alvaro Morte who takes a contemporary approach as an ambitious adventurer . A splendid TV series in 6 episodes about the fabulous feats carried out by Ferdinand Magellan and Juan Sebastián Elcano.

Story of one of the most incredible adventures ever happened: the first trip around the world. It was realized to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the most incredible journey by sea ever made. A nice and spectacular TV series , this ¨Sin Limites (2022)¨ or ¨Boundless¨ mixes action , fights, adventure and epic by taking a look at humanity's journey into the unknown, focusing on two different eras with a common human and technological challenge.

Boundless (2022) is an enjoyable and attractive series that presents us a lot of biographic elements about Fernando de Magallanes and Juan Sebastián Elcano . Focusing on the deeds of the Portuguese Magellan and the Spanish Elcano between 1519 and 1522, when the former commanded a flotilla of ships armed by the Crown of Spain in search of an alternative way to the Asian land route , passing the Magellan strait , arriving to Guam , Marianas islands , to reach the Moluccas Islands and establish a maritime trade route bordering America to the south, and the second, Elcano, completed the feat after the death of the Portuguese in what are now the Philippine Islands, in the island of Cebú while he combated rebel natives . Secondly, but obviously associated with the first, the film shows the analogies between that first circumnavigation trip around the world with the space race and, specifically, with the arrival of the first man on the Moon in 1969, concluding that space is the new ocean that the human being tends to explore, something that is in the very essence of homo sapiens, the curiosity to find new lands, new spaces, new frontiers, physical or intellectual. A big budget series made is similar style to ¨1492: Conquest of Paradise¨(1992) by Ridley Scott and ¨Christopher Colombus : The Discovery¨(1992) by John Glen that were produced for the 500th anniversary of Colombus' voyage .This series was well directed by Simon West (Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, The General's Daughter m Expendables II, Stratton , Con Air) .

Adding more historical remarks to those depicted on the movie , these are the following ones : Magallanes was a Portuguese explorer and a subject of the Hispanic Monarchy from 1518. He is best known for having planned and led the 1519 Spanish expedition to the East Indies across the Pacific Ocean to open a maritime trade route, during which he discovered the interoceanic passage bearing thereafter his name and achieved the first European navigation from the Atlantic to Asia. During this voyage, Magellan was killed in the Battle of Mactan in 1521 in the present-day Philippines, after running into resistance by the indigenous population led by Lapulapu, who consequently became a Philippines national symbol of resistance to colonialism. After Magellan's death, Juan Sebastián Elcano took the lead of the expedition, and with its few other surviving members, in one of the two remaining ships, completed the first circumnavigation of the Earth when they returned to Spain in 1522. Born 4 February 1480 into a family of minor Portuguese nobility, Magellan became a skilled sailor and naval officer in service of the Portuguese Crown in Asia. King Manuel I of Portugal refused to support Magellan's plan to reach the Maluku Islands (the "Spice Islands") by sailing westwards around the American continent. Facing some criminal offences, Magellan left Portugal and proposed the same expedition to King Charles I of Spain, who accepted it. Consequently, many in Portugal considered him a traitor and he never returned. In Seville, he married, fathered two children, and organised the expedition. Granted special powers and privileges by the King, he led the Armada from Sanlucar de Barrameda, southwest across the Atlantic Ocean, to the eastern coast of South America, and down to Patagonia. Despite a series of storms and mutinies, the expedition successfully passed through the Strait of Magellan into the Mar del Sur, which Magellan renamed the "Peaceful Sea" . The expedition reached Guam and, shortly after, the Philippine islands. There Magellan was killed in the Battle of Mactan in April 1521. Under the command of captain Juan Sebastian Elcano, the expedition later reached the Spice Islands. To navigate back to Spain and avoid seizure by the Portuguese, the expedition's two remaining ships split, one attempting, unsuccessfully, to reach New Spain by sailing eastwards across the Pacific, while the other, commanded by Elcano, sailed westwards via the Indian Ocean and up the Atlantic coast of Africa, finally arriving at the expedition's port of departure and thereby completing the first complete circuit of the globe. While in the Kingdom of Portugal's service, Magellan had already reached the Malay Archipelago in Southeast Asia on previous voyages traveling east (from 1505 to 1511-1512). By visiting this area again but now traveling west, Magellan achieved a nearly complete personal circumnavigation of the globe for the first time in history.

A feel for the period

[GwydionMW · 8/10 · 3 July 2022]

As a Briton, I knew very little about Magellan.

Historic details I don't know in detail. The dirt and squalor of the time look realistic. The smallness of the cannons, and a ship being steered with a lever in the middle of the ship. Things that go against expectations.

The series could have had less on details of the suffering on the later parts of the voyage. And as others say, it was not a profitable route at the time, given the vastness of the Pacific.

Very sensitive well done

[rdallagnol · 8/10 · 6 September 2022]

Actors with very good performance and the main caracthers well presented. The main facts have been developed mostly with historic accuracy. I do not why someone says the are going to East this is not pictured in the series. They sail South sometimes just to escape the Armada attacks. The lack of some insights to the main audience,like quick geographic references,makes the series a little complex to understand. The Director is not the best one by sure and the series lacks a sense of continuity by cutting key passages in the trip. But in general good action, well designed costums and sequence of events.

Overall isn't that bad

[nunolac · 7/10 · 20 October 2023]

Let me start by saying that the show overall isn't that bad.

I was surprised in a positive way with the performance of some of the actors. I wasn't expecting them to act that way and they were better then I though.

On the negative way the screen was very dark and there are a couple of historical facts that aren't at all accurate.

Still it was entertaining and a reasonable show to watch. It could have been better and the story could have been told on a different way regardless of being more or less accurate. Still If you're looking for a more historical accurate show, then this isn't for you. Instead you should look into some documentaries.

A small step, but in the right direction.

[avezzanoandrea · 7/10 · 11 December 2022]

After attending others spanish history-based productions, like the ones based on I. Falcones's books or the terribile Isabel, I was pretty much scared that Sin Limites would be another soap opera. And indeed this kind of production seems to not be fully capable of let go some of the genre tropes or putting the necessary care were needed (like when representing the great court of the king of Spain as a empty room with a table and some candles). But, letting aside the various "artistic liberties" the authors took on the real historical journey of Magellan, I was pleasantly surprised to see how they were capable of creating an entertaining and visually pleasing story. The Show is well written and directed, the photography does it's job, and the characters are generally well rounded, even if they couldnt' avoid some classic tropes, expecially on the first episode, but you get the feeling of emprovement as the show progress. In conclusion, even if not completely historically accurate and with some ingenuity, the Show is capable of delivering an engaging story, characters with positive valours of loyalty and strenth, and portrays the ambition, the will power and the dedication that drove the famous voyage. In this time of wokeness, baseness and stupidity it's even more important.

Just Take In the Experience

[kcterrell-25046 · 9/10 · 3 September 2022]

Considerable time spent languishing with starving and sick sailors on the decks of leaking ships, along with the occasional gory battle scene. But none of that is gratuitous. It's part of the self-immersion into a tale of extraordinary courage, perseverance, and survival. Despite the opinions of others, I find the film pretty true to known history, at least with a brush just broad enough to embrace good story-telling. For fans of historical drama, this is an excellent past time, with everything a good adventure movie should have: good acting, believable character development, interesting direction, good writing, excellent dialogue, and wide cinematography. All in all, a story told with great emotional depth, and well worth the commitment to six episodes.

Superb

[rui-ribeiro-327-319884 · 10/10 · 18 July 2022]

Despite the multiple historical inaccuracies, the quality of the series is excellent, and very watchable.

The acting also is quite good, and hearing it in Portuguese and Castellaño fantastic. Also my wife enjoyed the tagalog, but called to my attention it the wrong dialect for the place.

As entertainment, I quite enjoy it the Spanish being able to produce such a good serie.

I will probably view it again.

One more missed opportunity

[josacar-68337 · 2/10 · 28 June 2022]

This will entertain anyone who has never read anything on the subject. That's why it doesn't get the lowest score.

There was no need for "artistic freedom" to change so much of what happened in reality. I guarantee the real story is much more interesting. Read Zweig or Bergreen. The best thing about this time of culture clash of civilizations and exploration, is that there is no script that can be better than reality. The best bet is to be faithful to the events, because they are very well documented.

I'll just leave here the sentence at the end of this production as an example of the complete absence of historical support: "With this new route to the West, Spain controlled the spice trade for decades".

What? How can something that claims to be historic end up with this blatant lie?

None of the advisors heard of the Treaty of Zaragoza(1529)? In it and after some skirmishes between the Spanish and Portuguese in the Spice Islands with Spanish defeat, Spain accepted money from Portugal to settle the matter leaving control of the spice trade to remain in the hands of the Portuguese until the Dutch took it much later.

If this is the historical rigor, I think it would have been better to end by saying that Elcano, who is meant to be exaggeratedly glorified and who under no criteria can be considered the greatest hero of Magellan's expedition, a few years later, sailed through space in a winged ship, having been the first to surf the rings of Saturn with his surfboard covered in cloves and cinnamon.

Amazing and ACCURATE despite what the historically ignorant may claim

[alcosta-197-774442 · 10/10 · 9 October 2022]

Seeing some of the reviews here that insist in claiming this is not accurate, sorry to disappoint but it is

Spain PAID for both Columbus and Magallanes voyages, and it was Elcano who decided to continue the voyage instead of just turning back as 2 other ships actually did

Therefore, it was him and spaniards the ones who discovered a continent and circumnavegated the globe for the first time. Period. And any other claim is just by people who are jealous their own histories only have pirates to provide.

And it is very well portraied in this series which will keep you stuck to your chair until you finish the last episode.

Spanish revisionism

[jegsc-60431 · 1/10 · 27 June 2022]

If there is something that still hurts Spanish nationalists in the 21st century, it is that the 2 most famous explorers who traveled for their Crown were foreigners: Columbus (Genoa), Magellan (Portugal).

On this trip, as Magellan died before completing his return, the perfect opportunity arises to try to foist a Spanish hero. The whole series is based on trying to stuff Elcano down our throats.

In real life, Elcano was a product of randomness. Without any importance before taking command of one of the ships(he ascends to captain after Magellan's death and the subsequent deaths of many in higher positions in the right time to seize the opportunity), he was part of the mutiny that wanted to end the voyage and cowardly return to Spain even before the discovery of the Strait to the Pacific. By the way, the attempt to exonerate him during the mutiny in this series is ridiculous.

As in any undertaking of importance to Humanity, the deserved highlight always goes (or should go) to its designer. This is undoubtedly the stubborn and almost supernaturally brave Magellan, the just hero of this remarkable feat.

There is a narrative in Spain that tries to paste the idea of a trip around the world to Elcano, reproduced here...as if he were a guy with 20th century mindset wanting to enter the Guiness World Records. Obviously, the man who mutinied so early, only and only wanted to return home alive and that's why he chose to continue on that path: the one which guaranteed him greater chances of survival.

The greatest feat was already performed at the precise moment they arrived in the Philippines and the translator, Enrique, understood the language: the route to the West is complete, which definitively proves the sphericity of the Earth. The circumnavigation routes were open and charted. The other route, the one heading East, had already been discovered by the Portuguese.

Elcano's merit was that he did not let this feat fall into oblivion, when he returned via the Portuguese route. Yes, he may have sailed in some waters where ships had not yet passed, but even that is debatable, because the Portuguese explored the Indian Ocean for 20 years before him and the myth of cabotage navigation is just that...a myth you only hear in Spain to accentuate the Spanish exceptionality in the sea that never existed. They were almost limited to mimic and receiving rejections from Portugal(Columbus and Magellan),the country that truly dominated the seas and allowed with advances in technical and scientific knowledge to open the World in the 15th and 16th centuries.

But one can never compare the feat that is almost blind sailing in the Unknown like Magellan did, with navigation knowing the exact location of the Cape of Good Hope and the direction to follow, already performed hundreds of times before(even with the deviation in the Indian Ocean,that's basically what Elcano did.)

There is also the detail that Magellan most probably completed the 2-step circumnavigation before, having sailed in the service of the Portuguese Crown, beyond the longitude of the Philippines, in the expedition of Antonio Abreu. Or, if not him, maybe Enrique, his slave did it. But this, as we have already seen, is a simple curiosity, derived from our current mentality, than the real importance of what was achieved.

The series has a mountain of historical inaccuracies, being made for quick consumption by the masses and a deeply Spanish bias. It would be nice to see the journey that can be only compared to the Moon landing, receive the attention it deserves from the great filmakers. But at a time when the slightest association with european colonialism is a stigma, it seems difficult.

Vikings are highly overrated and cannot be compared in terms of impact with the heroes of Age of Discovery, but not on the Hollywood Index Prohibitorum because they massacred others of similar ethnicity...

Not very bright

[greenjackle · 8/10 · 3 August 2022]

Well the show is very good and accurate. However their biggest flaw is they didn't have enough salted meat and fresh water. Also when they stopped on land they should have stocked up on everything. But here is the biggest thing. Why did they not fish for food? Also if someone dies then gut them and chum the waters to bring fish and sharks to eat. These people aren't very bright.

Not historically accurate but decent enough.

[justthenaughtystuff-44694 · 9/10 · 23 August 2022]

Really a 7 but since people are clueless and give 1's, I can make up ratings also. Yes the show is fairly dark at times but at no point could I not make out what was going on. I even have bad eye sight. Anybody who cried over this point should probably just stop watching stuff.

It starts slow which is what's expected but finally starts to catch wind about episode 3.

Surprise! Not history!

[wtprincetx · 5/10 · 19 August 2022]

If you need a little mindless diversion, this show might provide it. It was okay-very average. If you want a history lesson, you're looking in the wrong place.

Good but should have been better

[mariogferreira · 8/10 · 4 September 2022]

Magellan and Elcano completed what is probably the greatest feat of exploration in history and this is a good attempt to honour it, but it deserved a bigger budget and more time to define the characters. Though Magellan is as historians describe him Elcano may have been over romanticised (Great Alvaro Morte though). More money should have gone into this.

There were at least three mutinies and crossing the Strait of Magellan for the first time would have deserved at least two episodes. The fight with LapuLapu had a religious component. Magellan was a very pious man (extremist maybe) and that was the root of many troubles during the journey. More time should have been spent on this.

Overall good and beautiful but it should have been better.

Ok but why is everything so dark?

[rhiwderinray · 4/10 · 2 July 2022]

The series is ok as historical dramas go. My main complaint is that most of the time the screen is so dark you struggle to see what is happening.... about 75 percent of the picture takes place either at night or in the dark recesses of a ship!

Awesome effort Very well made.

[tradess · 10/10 · 6 August 2022]

Awesome effort Very well made.

Good direction in those days of very less equipment

A fine piece of History 👌

A fine piece of History 👌

I am a history buff Hope to view more.

Hope to view more.

magnificent story

[dmacineiras · 9/10 · 22 July 2023]

It relates in a fairly reliable way the main milestones of the trip, summarizing the most outstanding facts in 6 chapters. It can be seen that the producers and scriptwriters took Pigafetta's diary into account. In short, an entertaining series that highlights the hardships those men had to go through to go around the world for the first time.

Perhaps it would have been desirable to find that the characters suffered greater wear and tear during the trip, noting the weight loss of the actors, something that does not happen.

It is appreciated to find different content than usual on digital platforms.

Too dark to watch.

[jak_internetcafe · 1/10 · 6 July 2022]

Even in the daylight scenes the foreground and actors were too dark to see clearly and then there was a fight inside where nothing but the odd candle could be seen. A great pity because it looked promising but I didn't get past the first 5-10 minutes.

A big production failure.

Historical Accuracy is Nonexistant

[b_tight · 5/10 · 22 July 2022]

The drama and action are pretty standard for a setting like this.

However, the historical accuracy is sooo bad. For gods sake they didnt even get the direction of Magellans voyage correct. Magellan went westward while this show has him going east. Yikes.

Lapu Lapu is waiting for you...

[qxxqwww · 2/10 · 3 July 2022]

Well, as usual in deception, distortion and stealing the efforts of humanity and attributing it to them, so there is nothing new, only more deception.

Sorry: A Wasted Story

[amatilla · 4/10 · 11 November 2022]

Sorry: A Wasted Story It has disappointed me. I expected a lot more from this series and despite the fact that the cast is solid, the setting is unfortunate: so dark that it seems that all the action takes place at night; jumps in the story, inconsistent characters. More importance has been given to the action than to the story.

With the experience that television has in Spain in the production of historical series (Isabel, Emperor Carlos, Inés del alma mía, etc.), it could have been done much better, especially considering the story that is being told: the first time that man circumnavigated the earth. It would take many years to repeat that feat.

Awful portrayal of native peoples, deeply disrespectful and 0% accurate!

[marcioselva · 1/10 · 22 August 2022]

Awful portrayal of native peoples, deeply disrespectful and 0% accurate! Unnecessary demonstration of racism and ignorance towards native Americans portrayed in the show. Throws to the garbage any sense of seriousness of the work. Amazing to see Rodrigo Santoro take part in such flawed piece of work.

Pointless show. All that's needed is a 2 hr documentary.

[frankblack-79961 · 4/10 · 13 July 2022]

Cannot believe they spent money to make this show. Magellan's story is not all that interesting to begin with. It's also rather short. Well, the main points are short. He spent a very long time sailing. Made his discovery, sailed a while longer. Landed in the Philippines and got involved with a tribal skirmish and got himself killed. The end of Magellan. Waste of time to watch this.

The story of the first round-the-world trip or a mediocre film adaptation of a bright page of history

[lyubitelfilmov · 5/10 · 27 November 2023]

Historical drama. I admit that I did not even suspect the existence of this series until they told me about it, thereby drawing my attention to it, and there have been no adaptations of such a legendary journey in world cinema so far - which is surprising, and the Spaniards filmed this series with the help of the Amazon conglomerate. It was interesting to watch these six episodes - and it wasn't for nothing that I spent time on them in the end. And here's my brief opinion for you - An average film adaptation of a bright page of history. In the series, there were both advantages and disadvantages (which greatly spoiled the impression). Therefore, we will not linger on the introduction, and get to the point, because the release of the series had to wait as much as three months on a well-known source - so I decided not to postpone the review. Moving on to the interesting.

So, the advantages: 1. The first round-the-world trip - as it is easy to understand from the title, this series is dedicated to the Spanish naval expedition of the Portuguese Fernando de Magillanes (better known by the Spanish name and surname Fernand Magellan), who was supposed to open the strait to the South Seas and get to the Spice Islands (at that time in Europe spices were scarce and cost more than gold), and as a result, this led to the world's first circumnavigation (1519-1522), which proved that the Earth is round, many new lands and the world's largest ocean were discovered - Quiet (it is, in fact, very violent, because storms are a frequent occurrence there, but when Magellan and his ships went through it, they did not notice storms, that's why they called it Quiet). We will be told about very general features and without spoiling details, and will be shown this journey from Magellan's idea to the arrival at the port of poisoning of the only ship with eighteen surviving sailors and an invaluable cargo of spices. To dwell in detail on the Spanish-Portuguese naval (and not only) confrontation, about the distrust of Spanish sailors and captains Magellan (Portuguese), about the difficult relationship between white and native tribes, the confrontation and friendship of Magellan and Sebastian Elcano. For the uninitiated, this series will be interesting and spectacular, and will also give an idea of this expedition, the value of which is difficult to overestimate. This is one of the greatest achievements of mankind, and of all mankind. But do not expect intrigue, subtle dialogues, amusing humor or acting here - all this is not here.

2. Costumes - apart from the Martian armor that the Spanish soldiers are wearing here, the costumes are pleasing to the eye, because they really look like European ones from the beginning of the sixteenth century. Maybe there are mistakes in the details (if there are any, historians can correct me), but I didn't notice them. Everyone is well dressed, from the king to the ordinary sailor. Household items are also pleasing - they were clearly picked up conscientiously.

3. Music, camerawork - and, although the music here is not very memorable, but there are several compositions that sound to the place and catch up with the appropriate atmosphere. The cameraman also did his best, picking out very wonderful shots of nature. It was interesting to watch them, even the sea romance woke up in me. What can I do, I'm such a sentimental person.

So, the disadvantages: 1. Historical mistakes - oh damn, there are so many of them that if I list them all, the review will stretch into twenty parts. Therefore, I will designate only a few. For example, the Portuguese King Manuel the First himself released Magellan to serve another monarch, and not Magellan himself became a Spanish subject, thereby betraying his Portuguese monarch. There was no battle between Magellan's fleet and the Portuguese ships, as shown in the series. Elcano (on his way back to Spain) called at Portuguese ports (which allowed them to get home), and in the series they only once attacked a food warehouse (which, apparently, no one was guarding, really why!) for the purpose of theft. I'm not saying that the noble Magellan could not have hit the Portuguese minister in front of witnesses, and even more so threatening him with a weapon is a violation of all taboos, because after such a Magellan, a royal court would have been waiting, and the verdict would certainly not have been in his favor.

2. The scenery - well, in the beginning they are good (because they were filmed on location, fortunately the castles in Spain have been preserved very well, to the envy of many), but then - quiet horror. Let's start with the port of departure - instead of a crowded port, we have a river pier of the village of Nizhny Oblivion, where, God forbid, there are twenty people in the crowd. Even the moment of departure of the expedition was filmed there, only the Spanish flags were added and the throne with King Charles the First. And then, apparently, the creators ran out of money for decorations (either Amazon was squeezed, or all the money was spent on the construction of two ships "Trinidad" and "Victoria"), so then we had to limit ourselves to small islands and native huts. Even in the scene of the raid on the Portuguese warehouse, only the warehouse itself will be shown to us. It's small for the first film adaptation of Magellan's journey.

3. A lot has been missed - I understand that six episodes of the entire journey cannot fit, but it is definitely possible to try to show the brightest. After all, when you read about this expedition, you wonder how many dramatic situations, intrigues, turns there were. How Magellan was able to defeat the Spanish captains (who organized more than one mutiny against him), how he behaved with the natives (with whom he was friends, and whom he killed and burned villages), how he was able to convince the team to go to the goal, despite numerous difficulties. And in general, how did I come up with the idea of the expedition itself (it belonged to more than one Magellan, because Raul Faleira played an equally important role). I'm not even talking about the trip of the remaining ship "Victoria" home, after the death of Magellan - it was no less dramatic there. In the series, it's all shown torn (everyone is celebrating that they opened the Pacific Ocean and the strait into it, and in the next frame, all the sailors are sick with scurvy).

4. Magellan's death - it is shown almost as it is described in the sources, although even this does not save the situation, because it is completely emotionless. I will explain, Magellan is played by Brazilian actor Rodrigo Santoro - a celebrity of far from the first magnitude (because there are only two notable projects in the piggy bank, these are terrible "Three Hundred Spartans" both parts), he does not really know how to play. Yes, and here his Magellan looks more like a touchy child who is not appreciated by one monarch, so our "not like everyone else" runs to his country's direct competitor - the Spanish monarch for the sake of fulfilling his dream (which in reality was not quite his). Only twice during the entire series, he shows how Magellan should have looked in a good film adaptation (the scene with the mutiny and the scene with Elcano's forgiveness). But that's it. We do not see the emotions of a person who was able to accomplish the impossible. I will give an almost textbook example - in Oliver Stone's film "Alexander", the director and the screenwriter were able to show us the great Alexander as a romantic who followed a dream and was able to accomplish the impossible at the same time - to defeat the Persian Empire - the superpower of that time and reach India with his troops. And here I didn't see such a hero who would inspire people so much. Maybe it's the actors, or maybe it's the directors. But in the series, Magellan's death does not cause any response in the soul, and this should not be.

I can say with confidence that the main character here is not Magellan, but the Spaniard Elcano, who has more screen time, whom the sailors and other captains respect, who at critical moments can discard all strife for the sake of a common cause, and who, after Magellan's death, leads the expedition (although this happened much later). His character is more emotional, you really worry about him, and the actor Alvaro Morte played, unlike Rodrigo Santoro. And some of the sailors are more memorable than our Magellan.

I'll even say the scary thing - almost all documentaries about this journey (even with reconstruction and acting) cause more emotions than this series. Although I repeat, for a general understanding, the series is suitable, but do not believe it thoroughly. Or better, after viewing - read about Magellan and his expedition, watch documentaries - there is more information and more of the most legendary history (but give preference to books and articles by historiographers).

This series is an almost sterile blockbuster, but without famous actors, cool music and humor. Which will disappear from you a few days after viewing - and sink into obscurity. And the presence of a fighting Negro among the team does not add historicity points to the series. You can watch it, but no more.

My rating is 5 out of 10. About the recommendation - see for yourself!

3y reduced to 5h

[moritzherrmann-04529 · 3/10 · 3 December 2023]

Boundless is a historical adventure series which depicts the first circumnavigation by Magellan and Elcano in the 16th century.

Unfortunately, 6x45 minutes of playtime face three years of travel time. Therefore, the series feels like a collection of the most important events during the journey. The temporal and spatial distance between two scenes is often incomprehensible, and many months are often summarized in a few minutes.

The characters are simple with usually one defining motivation. Hence, there are conflicts between them but not within. Beyond the two main protagonists, the crew is an indistinguishable mass of men. That leads to a lack of sympathy and a low engagement in the story.

Finally, due to the historical nature of the series it is known what happens, and consequently, the level of excitement is low. But dependent on the prior knowledge, there might be a few unexpected events for each viewer, and hopefully, everyone will have learned something new after they have watched the series.