Kon-Tiki

PG-13

Released Apr 26, 2013

1 hr. 58 min.

Adventure

Drama

List

83%

81 Reviews

Tomatometer

77%

10,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Norwegian adventurer Thor Heyerdahl (Pål Sverre Hagen) suspects that the South Sea Islands were originally colonized by South Americans. In 1947 despite his fear of water and inability to swim, Heyerdahl decides to prove his theory. He and five companions set sail from Peru on a balsa-wood raft built from an ancient design. Their only modern equipment is a radio, and they must navigate using the stars and ocean currents. After three exhausting months at sea, they achieve their goal.

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Critics Consensus

A well-crafted retelling of an epic true story, Kon Tiki is a throwback to old-school adventure filmmaking that's exciting and entertaining in spite of its by-the-book plotting.

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Andreas K

A superbly filmed reconstruction of Thor Heyerdahl's expedition. Even though the actual voyage at sea is surprisingly short in the film, he manages to embed the story in great pictures and the Norwegian actors, who you don't know from every Hollywood movie, let the characters come to likeable life.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/11/23

Full Review

Nawt W

Even with an inspiring subject at hand, the creators could not figure out how to make the plot seem thrilling without adding a boatload of forced and overly dramatized conflicts that seemed as artificial as that CGI crab stowaway on the raft. Granted, low-grade CGI can be forgiven, seeing as there are some instances of it actually looking favorable, like the shark attacks. On the other hand, the low points, which almost by the numbers imitate Hollywood shlock, where the crew must come together at the end of this second act of ours and "HAVE SOME GODDAMN FAITH," are so distasteful it stings. None of the characters, aside from Thor and Watzinger, are memorable in the slightest outside of their roles on the raft. Watzinger is notable for all the wrong reasons since the script decided to make him the christened infidel and the odd one out who needs some goddamn faith, which he obviously obtains at the end. Thor's tenuous relationship with his wife also seemed overly trite until he actually read her letter. That part definitely elevates his entire character and gives his obsession more gravity, for his adventuring feats don't give him an advantage in all other aspects of life.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

09/29/23

Full Review

Megan e

This was surprisingly good and a decent adaptation of the book! Good performances, and a good reminder of the adventures and advancements made since the 40's.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

09/10/23

Full Review

Shock Therapy R

The feature movie includes some personal elements such as his wife and children left behind. Also, the insistence on ancient building methods seems to draw the ire of the engineer in the feature film. Seems like quite an experience and quite an honorary tribute to Kon-Tiki god and ancient traditions. I also viewed the 1951 documentary of same. Glad it worked out, despite its insistent cavalier style. I'm probably going to check history and see if his wife remained married to him. It's the crew onshore that Thor seemed to disregard, even if Mother Nature gave him and they a bye.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/07/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The worst 01 hour: and 58 minutes in ****ing *****y Norwegian!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/11/23

Full Review

Audience Member

It feels like a documentary more then anything else, but some just don't make any sense...

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/03/23

Full Review

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Joachim Rønning

Director

Espen Sandberg

Director

Pål Sverre Hagen

Thor Heyerdahl

Anders Baasmo Christiansen

Herman Watzinger

Gustaf Skarsgård

Bengt Danielsson

Odd Magnus Williamson

Erik Hesselberg

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Critics Consensus: Pain & Gain is Visceral But Uneven

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Bilge Ebiri

Spirituality & Health

Although the film is replete with suspense, it's often at its best when playing the characters on the raft off one another.

Mar 25, 2020

Full Review

Mark Kermode

Observer (UK)

Considering we all know the outcome, the levels of tension remain impressive, while an atmosphere of melancholy tempers even the most triumphant moments.

Rated: 4/5

Dec 21, 2014

Full Review

Geoffrey Macnab

Independent (UK)

It is beautifully shot and has the same fierce intelligence about it that you find in its producer's other epic "quest" movies.

Rated: 3/5

Dec 19, 2014

Full Review

Lucía Roitbarg

EscribiendoCine

Unlike other films about rafts that shipwreck in the middle of the ocean, nothing in this film is accidental. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 8/10

Nov 13, 2023

Full Review

Cory Woodroof

Nashville Scene

Somewhat akin to the similarly sea-bound Life of Pi, Kon-Tiki's visual splendor stems from the film's painterly art direction and lush cinematography.

Sep 9, 2021

Full Review

Leigh Paatsch

Herald Sun (Australia)

This polite, stony-faced dramatisation of the voyage is pretty much Life of Pi without the stowaway tiger or the groovy 3D visuals, but with the same amount of sharks and storms.

Rated: 3/5

Apr 22, 2020

Full Review

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Synopsis

Norwegian adventurer Thor Heyerdahl (Pål Sverre Hagen) suspects that the South Sea Islands were originally colonized by South Americans. In 1947 despite his fear of water and inability to swim, Heyerdahl decides to prove his theory. He and five companions set sail from Peru on a balsa-wood raft built from an ancient design. Their only modern equipment is a radio, and they must navigate using the stars and ocean currents. After three exhausting months at sea, they achieve their goal.

Director: Joachim Rønning, Espen Sandberg
Executive Producer: Christoph Daniel, Lone Korslund, Marc Schmidheiny, Petter Skavlan, Dario Suter
Screenwriter: Petter Skavlan
Distributor: Weinstein Co.
Production Co: Film i Väst, Recorded Picture Company (RPC), DCM Productions, Nordisk Film
Rating: PG-13 (A Disturbing Violent Sequence)
Genre: Adventure, Drama
Original Language: Norwegian
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 26, 2013, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 14, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $1.5M

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