FREE SOLO
Riveting, intense climbing documentary for older viewers.
Should You Watch It?
FREE SOLO is an extraordinary documentary about perfection under pressure. Watching Alex Honnold climb El Capitan without ropes or safety gear is riveting from beginning to end. The film creates sweaty palms and long breath holds without needing to exaggerate its subject.
The cost is emotional intensity. Alex’s climbs leave almost nothing between him and death, and the documentary follows the danger closely. There is also brief strong language, a relationship shown in ways parents should consider, and a worldview that treats death matter-of-factly without acknowledging God or an afterlife.
Adults and older viewers who can handle the subject should find a gripping, beautifully focused experience. Younger children and sensitive viewers may be overwhelmed. For your family, choose it if sustained real-life danger will hold attention rather than cause distress.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESAlex Honnold has turned a childhood interest in climbing into a dangerous career as a “free soloer”—someone who climbs without ropes or safety gear. After conquering many summits, he sets his sights on El Capitan, a 3,000-foot wall in Yosemite National Park.
With help from climber Tommy Caldwell, Alex trains for the challenge while navigating his relationship with his girlfriend and the mental demands of attempting something no one has done before.
Is It Any Good?
Four stars means this is an exceptional documentary. FREE SOLO is entertaining from beginning to end, covering many aspects of Alex’s life while maintaining a constant whirlwind of emotions.
The climbing itself supplies all the drama the film needs. Alex ascends a practically flat, sheer rock face thousands of feet in the air with no protection, creating sweaty palms and long breath holds. The subject matter is already so intense that the filmmaking does not need to amplify it with effects. The result is riveting, focused, and extremely intense.
The Worldview
FREE SOLO has a primarily Romantic worldview. Alex pursues his personal desires and dreams, sometimes disregarding the people who love him and the effect his ambitions have on them. His views on risk and death are matter-of-fact, and the film does not acknowledge a higher power or an afterlife.
The documentary presents extraordinary discipline and achievement, but it does not place those achievements under accountability to God. Its treatment of death gives little significance to what comes after it. The film’s central question is what a person will risk to pursue a dream, while Scripture asks us to measure every ambition before God: “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” (Matthew 16:26).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements
Strong Romantic, light humanist worldview about a man who pursues his personal desires and dreams without any regard or consideration of how it affects the people around him who love him, there is no mention of God or an afterlife, and death is viewed as a routine part of life with little to no significance
Foul Language
One “f” word and one GD profanity
Violence
Some scary rock-climbing results in falls that sprain a man’s back and ankle
Sex
Implied fornication as a girlfriend and boyfriend share a bed many times, they are also shown looking at a house to move in together
Nudity
Upper male nudity on several occasions, nothing sexual
Alcohol Use
No alcohol use
Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse
No smoking or drugs;
Miscellaneous Immorality
Light examples of a dysfunctional family.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
Alex’s ambitions affect the people who love him. How should our goals be weighed against our responsibilities to others?
Philippians 2:3–4 · 1 Corinthians 10:24The film treats death as a routine part of life without acknowledging God or an afterlife. How does Scripture change the way we understand both death and courage?
Hebrews 9:27 · Psalm 90:12Alex’s climbing requires remarkable discipline and focus. When can discipline serve a good purpose, and when can it become ruled by personal desire?
1 Corinthians 9:24–27 · James 4:13–15What does it mean to pursue a dream while still loving and considering the people around you?
Romans 12:10 · Philippians 2:4The Final Word
FREE SOLO is a masterfully riveting documentary, but its heights and sustained danger are not for everyone. Adults and older viewers who can handle intense real-life risk may find the experience worthwhile; families with younger or sensitive viewers should choose another film. Our answer is WORTH THE TRIP — OLDER VIEWERS.
