Tenzing review: Everest finally told from the right side
Apple TV’s Tenzing puts the Sherpa at the centre of the Everest story, with Tom Hiddleston and Willem Dafoe in support. Here’s whether it’s worth two hours of your evening.
Reviewed, edited and approved by Editor-in-chief Daniel Sköld · Updated 25 October 2026
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For most of my childhood, the 1953 conquest of Everest was a story about plucky chaps in tweed, a Kiwi beekeeper and a nice cup of tea at base camp. The man who actually stood on the summit alongside Edmund Hillary was usually a photo caption. Tenzing, Apple’s new drama from director Jennifer Peedom, sets out to fix that, and frankly it’s about seventy years overdue.
It’s a big, handsome, 126-minute historical drama with a starry cast. It’s also the sort of film that will have you checking flights to Kathmandu by the end credits, then checking your knees and having a lie down. Here’s whether it earns a place on your watchlist.
Premiere2026-10-09
GenreDrama, History
CastGenden Phuntsok, Tom Hiddleston, Willem Dafoe, Samdrup Dorje Lama
Directed byJennifer Peedom
Running time126 min
Rated12
Watch onApple TV
83%
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A dream, a mountain and nobody’s footnote
The set-up is simple. A determined man sets off on a high-stakes quest to be the first to stand on the summit of Mount Everest, against odds that look close to impossible. That’s the whole premise, and it’s enough. Everyone knows how the 1953 story ends, so the tension doesn’t come from whether he reaches the top. It comes from the ambition, from how far he has to travel to get within touching distance of the summit, and from who gets the credit once he’s there.
That shift matters. British mountaineering is full of names we were raised to admire: George Mallory and Andrew Irvine disappearing into the cloud in 1924, John Hunt leading the 1953 expedition, Doug Scott and Dougal Haston becoming the first Britons on the summit via the South-West Face in 1975, Chris Bonington organising the whole circus. All of them leaned heavily on Sherpa climbers and porters whose names barely made it into the books. A film that starts from the other end of the rope is a decent corrective, and it doesn’t need to bash anyone to make its point.
Who’s on the rope
Top billing goes to Genden Phuntsok, which is exactly how it should be. Supporting him is an international cast that includes Tom Hiddleston, Willem Dafoe and Johnny Flynn, alongside Samdrup Dorje Lama and Bhuchung Kata. It’s a nice inversion of the old formula, where the Western stars carry the poster and the local talent gets about three lines. Hiddleston and Dafoe are both reliable at bringing gravitas without hogging the oxygen (sorry), and Flynn has form playing Englishmen of a certain clipped, decent type.
Behind the camera is Jennifer Peedom, and the film runs 126 minutes. It carries a 12 certificate in the UK, so you can watch it with a teenager without too many awkward moments, though possibly a few awkward questions about why their dad gets out of breath on the stairs.
The most interesting thing about Tenzing isn’t the summit. It’s the decision, at last, to point the camera at the man who was always standing just out of shot.
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What works, and where it wobbles
The big plus is the point of view. Mountain films usually work best when they’re about obsession rather than geography, and a story built around one man’s long-held dream gives Tenzing a proper emotional engine. Two hours is a fair whack, but this is a story spanning a long ambition rather than one frantic summit push, and it makes sense for it to take its time.
The risk with any prestige biopic is reverence. Historical dramas about national heroes can turn into a museum piece, all sweeping vistas and dignified gazing, and Everest is a mountain that practically begs a cinematographer to show off. If you want white-knuckle survival thrills, you’d be better off with Touching the Void. This is the more measured option: a character study that happens to take place at altitude.
It may also put a few ideas into middle-aged heads. If you fancy following in those footsteps, the reality is sobering. A guided Everest expedition typically costs tens of thousands of pounds once permits, guides, oxygen and kit are added up. The British Mountaineering Council’s advice for anyone eyeing the big Himalayan peaks is to build experience steadily: winter skills in Scotland, where ticking off the 282 Munros is a respectable lifetime project on its own, scrambling in Snowdonia, then alpine routes in the Alps before anything above 8,000 metres. For most of us, a crisp February day on Ben Nevis with a flask is plenty of mountain, thanks.
What the critics say
Tenzing is only just arriving, and no critics’ consensus has formed yet. There is no settled Rotten Tomatoes or Metacritic score to point you to, so for now you have to rely on the premise, the cast and the people involved. Given the cast list and the subject, expect the broadsheets to be interested. I’ll be watching to see whether they find it inspiring or merely worthy.
Where and when to watch in the UK
Tenzing premieres on 9 October 2026 and is available to watch in the UK on Apple TV, Apple’s streaming service, which is included in Apple One bundles or can be subscribed to on its own. It’s available through the Apple TV app on most smart TVs, streaming sticks and games consoles, so you don’t need to own an iPhone to see it. Running time is 126 minutes, rated 12.
Verdict
Tenzing tells one of the great 20th-century adventure stories from the side that history mostly ignored, and that alone makes it worth your time. With Genden Phuntsok leading and Hiddleston and Dafoe in support, it’s a solid Friday-night choice for anyone who grew up on tales of Hunt, Hillary and Bonington and suspects they were only getting half the story. Not for adrenaline junkies, but very much for anyone who thinks the man on the summit deserved more than a caption.
Ashley Isaacs picks what's worth your evening – film, TV, streaming, music and books for men 45 and over with limited evenings and too many subscriptions. Reviews of what's new on Netflix, Prime Video, BBC iPlayer and the rest, crime dramas worth a weekend, and classics worth a second look. What's worth watching, what isn't, and where to find it in the UK.
One of Midcent's writers. Spotted something? Write to ashley@midcent.uk.
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