We’ve seen (and will see) Obi-Wan Kenobi, we’ve seen Mark Renton, and more recently, we’ve seen Halston. But we never saw Ewan McGregor as himself, he has never been seen practicing his personal hobbies in a television or film production outside of his acting role. And that’s exactly what ‘Long Way Up’ offers us on Apple TV+.
An electric motorcycle route offers more than you think
‘Long Way Up’ has another title in Europe (“The world on a motorcycle: towards the north”), but you will allow me to refuse to talk about it any further since it is a product of these horrible translations of the original into Spanish. East docu-reality The eleven-part series chronicles how McGregor teams up with one of his best friends to take on a huge challenge: travel a route of almost 21,000 km from the southern tip of Argentina to the city of Los Angeles.
Yes, it’s a challenge, because they don’t drive through it. They do it on a motorcycle, and to add insult to injury on electric motorcycles. This is what adds interest to the feat since to achieve it you have to install charging stations or be inventive throughout the course. The temperature, the bad weather and the terrain modify the autonomy of the motorcycles and on more than one occasion we see how many problems there are. The protagonists are followed by two To recover Rivian’s e-bikes and the bikes they ride are modified Harley-Davidsons.
The best thing about ‘Long Way Up’ is seeing McGregor in his own way. Surrounded by friends, doing what he loves (it’s not the first time he’s been on very long motorcycle trips) and enjoying all the surprises the road has in store for him. There are also bad moments, but in general the feeling that you left from the trip is good.
During this trip, something that you appreciate also jumps out: landscape differences they cross, the diversity of the people they meet and the main issues of each territory. They cross jungles in the process of extinction, regions that are too poor or roads where there is danger due to the presence of terrorists or drug traffickers. Everything is revealed thanks to a motorcycle tour.
I wouldn’t say I encourage you to watch these episodes after dinner and with a bowl of popcorn, because we’re not dealing with a masterful production. But “Long Way Up” can be that content that entertains you in a dead moment you have at home, or during a trip, or keeps you company while you perform a mechanical task. It is quite popular and should not be ignored as one of the pioneering contents of Apple TV+. And as always, I recommend watching it in the original version to enjoy one of the best Scottish accents.
