Chris Hemsworth: A Roadtrip to Remember — Review

Rating: 8.7/10

Chris Hemsworth: A Roadtrip to Remember is a powerful blend of documentary filmmaking and heartfelt family storytelling, and unexpectedly, it doubles as one of the clearest mainstream examples of reminiscence therapy for dementia and Alzheimer’s.

The film opens on an emotional note, with Chris reflecting on the distance he feels from his father, Craig, who’s now 71 and in the early stages of Alzheimer’s.

Produced by National Geographic, the documentary grounds its emotional beats in real cognitive science, weaving expert insight throughout the narrative in a way that’s easy for everyday viewers to understand.

The journey begins at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne during a Western Bulldogs game; a deliberate choice rooted in the science of slowing cognitive decline through social connection and large, stimulating environments.

From there, the road trip becomes a tour through memory: returning to Chris’s childhood home, recreating it with the help of designers, revisiting old hangouts, and bringing out the old songs, photographs, and home movies that help unlock fading neural pathways.

Motorbikes serve as their main method of travel, one of Craig’s lifelong loves, while trips across the Australian bush lead to reunions with old coworkers and friends.

The documentary doesn’t shy away from tough moments, especially when memories slip, but it balances them with warmth, humor, and genuine connection.

What elevates this piece is how seamlessly it blends personal storytelling with scientific explanation, diagrams of the cerebral cortex, multisensory exercises, and social bridging techniques, all presented with the hope of helping families facing similar diagnoses.

With nearly 10 million new cases of dementia each year worldwide, this documentary feels timely and necessary.

A moving, informative, and beautifully crafted journey — 8.7 out of 10