The introductory sequences had me expecting a laughably accurate imitation of Heyerdahl's earlier Kon-Tiki expedition. This may be true on paper (or on papyrus) but crackpot theory aside, the film turned out to be even better than Kon-Tiki, and one of the most dramatic and fascinating films I've ever seen both as a documentary and as an adventure movie. It brims with anthropological mystique and passion for discovery, and is much more professional cinematically than the amateur Kon-Tiki.