“Don’t Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever” is set to premiere on Netflix in 2025, directed by Chris Smith, the brain behind Fyre and Tiger King. The film traces the history of Bryan Johnson, a tech millionaire and a 47-year-old, who is in the news for his cosmopolitan dream – that of being immortal.
Synopsis:
This documentary gives the viewer an insight about Johnson and his routine focused towards staying young forever, which is referred to as Project Blueprint. This program consists of taking more than a hundred pills, precise dieting, routinely working out, and conducting medical tests. The plasma transfusion is one of the more questionable parts of his plan which involves his own teenage son Talmage. Such procedures do take a toll financially as he spends more than two million dollars a year if reports are to be believed.
The movie in addition to Johnson’s methods of staying young literally forever, focuses on what makes him the man he is. It explains how his struggles with depression have affected him in the present. It also depicts how his actions have affected his familial relations and focuses on tension and restoration.
Cast & Crew:
- Chris Smith is the Director.
- Bryan Johnson: The focus of the documentary, he is a technology entrepreneur and founder of Braintree, Kernel, and other companies.
- Talmage Johnson: He is the teenage son of Bryan who takes part in the plasma transfusion.
- Mac Davis: Acts as himself in the film.
Critical Reception:
Critics seem to have been somehow divided on the basis of reviews regarding the film “Don’t Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever.” As far as its data compilation goes, IMDb lists the movie as having an average of 6.2 stars out of 10 which is based on an estimated 1,800 votes.
Metacritic reports an overall score of 56 based on a sliding scale of 100 and suggests that the critics were not overly impressed with the content of the film.
In the same breath, critics for the San Francisco Chronicle also felt that the movie fully depicted all of Johnson’s attempts at trying to live forever and according to them, the movie succeeds in portraying Johnson as more than just a blood-thirsty billionaire as Carla made him out to be.
On the other hand, Decider mentioned it as. “a good thing and a bad thing” in terms of people being intrigued by Johnson’s methods.
Analysis:
From the title of the movie itself, it becomes clear that “Don’t Die” encourages the audience to reflect on what it is that people would be willing to do if only to cheat death. Johnson goes to extremes trying to fight against aging and in the process he forces the audience to question regulation of biohacking and anti-aging technologies. It is fair to say that such practices are frowned upon in the scientific community. As the documentary suggests, the majority of scientists are not familiar with the purpose and benefits of Johnson’s methods.
Additionally, the film discusses the ethical concerns behind such practices as well.
It prompts viewers to think about the social injustice caused by this kind of inequality and if the quest for maximum survival is solely a pursuit for the rich. In the same breath, it delves into the sociological issues stemming from the desire to be forever, fear, dominance, and humanity, and their roots.
Conclusion:
“Don’t Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever” is a riveting documentary that goes in detail into Bryan Johnson’s desperate attempts to eliminate aging. It follows him around availing the processes of his daily life, the medical and surgical procedures, and the thoughts about his life thus giving the state of the art view about the modern anti aging efforts. Vice versa, the film compels one to think about the spin offs in ethics, science and an individual about the immortalization quest.
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