Long Way Home review — Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman hit the road again
They've come a long way over 20 years but this is familiar territory
At some point while watching Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman in episode one of Long Way Home, as the pair prepare for their latest motorcycle grand tour, a thought occurs: would we be as interested in this if it weren’t for the fact that one of the two protagonists is a movie megastar. Beyond the basic fascination we have with celebrity, there is a certain amount of jeopardy simply in the idea that if McGregor were to break his neck, it could rob the world of one of the best-loved actors of modern times.
Fortunately there is more to this series, which started just over 20 years ago with Long Way Round (yes, you’re that old), than morbidity and star power. The Long Way franchise involves (and perhaps inspired) some of the magic captured in similar shows such as Mortimer and Whitehouse Gone Fishing or Two Men on a Bike with Hugh Dennis and David Baddiel; in other words, two ageing men (sorry, chaps, but it’s true) heading out into the world in search of … something… and along the way discovering more besides, about themselves and the areas they visit.
McGregor and Boorman have a very watchable, easy-going relationship. There’s a strong friendship but also a trust in each other, galvanised over their previous trio of trips. Inevitably, they lack the easy humour of Mortimer and Whitehouse or Baddiel and Dennis, but you can forgive them for that. And there is levity along the way: Boorman’s anecdote about being left with Kylie Minogue at an event, after McGregor introduced them and then walked off, for example. And his claim at one point while in Sweden that vikings invented flat pack furniture.
What’s slightly more frustrating is that McGregor and Boorman rarely attempt to explore more heartfelt subjects, such as life, death, parenthood or ailments (all too common as we get older), which works so well in the fishing and cycling shows. Boorman has told me in an interview that nothing is off limits, and that the good stuff always makes the cut, but viewers will be left wanting more. These deeper discussions result in some of the most heartfelt – occasionally tearful – moments that at times elevate Gone Fishing into the realms of the transcendental. With McGregor and Boorman they’re unfortunately few and far between.
They could, for example, have talked about what fatherhood means to them when they point out that it’s Father’s Day, and that they miss their kids. That’s certainly a vein Mortimer and Whitehouse would have mined. At times on Long Way Home — a name, incidentally, that you’d assume required discussion about family and what it means to have one — you wish there were a few more profound asides, and instead it becomes a bit like the moving image equivalent of being shown your friends’ holiday photo slideshow.
Again, of course, there are notable exceptions: McGregor talking about being connected to the environment while taking in the stunning Norwegian vistas, and Boorman being reminded of his sister, who died of ovarian cancer, during a visit to a church. It just takes a few episodes to get there.
On the plus side, Long Way Home is not without charm and intrigue, such as the bar in Denmark in which horses are allowed. The pair also throw themselves into the local cultures with genuine enthusiasm — McGregor in particular seems keen to try local foods (though unlike in one previous trip, there are no sheep testical stews to endure in Long Way Home), and the duo are clearly interested in scratching beyond the surface of the places they visit.
There’s also genuine jeopardy along the way, with a couple of tumbles from the bikes, as well as the need to seek out local mechanics.
If you enjoyed the prior three series, the Long Way Home is more of the same, and that’s no bad thing at all. If you’re a biker, it will also make you pine for the open road. One wonders if, with both gentlemen are now in their mid to late 50s (Boorman, 58, McGregor, 54), they’ll chalk this one up as their final televised adventure together and settle into old age without having to sleep in tents, risk serious injury and deal with the logistics of epic round-the-world journeys. But Boorman has said that as soon as one trip ends, he and McGregor start talking about the next one. We’ll have to wait and see, but for now this makes for a very easy watch — and improves as the episodes progress.
★★★☆☆
Long Way Home will be available globally on Apple TV+ on May 9
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