? Bryan Johnson is a tech mn’aire who has devoted his fortune and existence to a singular obsession: reversing the aging process. Chris Smith’s Don’t Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever offers a fascinating (and unsettling) glimpse into Johnson’s extreme approach to longevity through his Blueprint Protocol, a regimen that costs USD 2 mn annually in both basic health practices and experimental gene therapies.

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The documentary follows Johnson’s rigid schedule, where he consumes 54 pills upon waking up at 5am, sticks to a strict 2k calorie vegan diet, carries out a torturous battery of treatments and experimental therapies with murky ethics, finishes grueling workouts, and goes to bed by 8:30pm. Did we mention the regular blood and plasma transfusions from his teenage son?

His connection with his son Talmage, who he jokingly calls his blood boy, is the emotional core of the documentary. His arrival after estrangement marks a crucial turning point both in Johnson’s life and in the documentary, turning it from a straightforward explanation of a health obsession to a more comprehensive view of one man’s search for connection and purpose.

Smith never embraces or dismisses Johnson’s methodology, but gives a voice to both supporters and skeptics. His technical presentation of Johnson conveys the clinical nature of the mn’aire’s life, with the visual style creating a striking contrast with the more emotionally charged moments. This begs a question one of Johnson’s skeptics voices: Is Johnson’s life — one solely focused on biological optimization — worth living even if it means living forever?

WHERE TO WATCH- You can find Don’t Die on Netflix, or watch the trailer on YouTube (runtime: 2:13).

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