4 Movies That’ll Make You Slightly Less Anxious About Skyscraper Live

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The television event Skyscraper Live was unlike anything seen before – and incredibly risky. It involved Alex Honnold, a renowned climber, scaling the Taipei 101 skyscraper without any ropes or safety equipment. The potential for disaster was terrifyingly obvious. While many sports are dangerous, they usually have established medical protocols in case of injury. But with Honnold’s climb, there was no plan for what would happen if he fell. Just thinking about it is unsettling.

Alex Honnold is uniquely qualified for this climb – he’s incredibly skilled and experienced, a true legend in the climbing world. He only attempts climbs he’s certain he can complete safely. Still, even with all his preparation, there’s always a small risk, especially with a challenging ascent like Taipei 101, which will be livestreamed on Netflix on January 23rd. We’re hoping everything goes smoothly, of course! To help ease any anxiety before you watch, here are four documentary recommendations showcasing the expertise of the climbers involved – think of it as a way to prepare yourself for the intensity.

Free Solo

The 2018 documentary that made Alex Honnold well-known was created by a team who, like the directors Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, were also climbers and Honnold’s friends. This close relationship added a personal and worried perspective to the film. Honnold’s goal seemed impossible: to be the first person to climb the 3,000-foot Freerider route on El Capitan in Yosemite National Park without any ropes or safety gear. He had climbed the route before with ropes, but this time, a single slip would mean a potentially fatal fall. Everyone involved in the documentary, particularly his climbing partner Tommy Caldwell, spoke about the challenge with disbelief, finding it hard to comprehend. Even after watching the film many times, it’s still difficult to understand how Honnold manages to grip such small holds and footholds.

The film Free Solo details Alex Honnold’s incredibly meticulous preparation for his climb. He trained relentlessly, practiced the route extensively, and even stopped once when he wasn’t confident. While viewers know he successfully completed the climb, the filmmakers didn’t – they filmed Honnold in real time, adding to the tension. The team behind the Oscar-winning 2019 documentary Free Solo all had to be incredibly brave, and watching it can give you a sense of that mindset before experiencing Skyscraper Live.

The film reveals something fascinating: Alex Honnold’s brain handles fear differently than most people’s. (The magazine Nautilus even did its own testing to confirm this.) This doesn’t mean he’s careless, but it gives him a natural edge when tackling these incredible climbs. And honestly, as viewers, it’s reassuring to know! (Available to stream on Disney+, Hulu, and Netflix)

Skywalkers: A Love Story and Roof Culture Asia

Rooftopping is a daring activity that combines city exploration, climbing, and parkour. People involved climb tall structures in urban environments – things like radio towers, cranes, and chimneys – and frequently share their adventures online. It’s similar to a scene from a movie, but done for social media attention, like if Tom Cruise scaled the Burj Khalifa just to get likes on Instagram.

Rooftopping is usually illegal trespassing, but Alex Honnold’s climb of Taipei 101 is different – he has permission and won’t risk being interrupted mid-climb. The documentary Skywalkers highlights how climbing buildings differs from climbing mountains. Unlike natural rock faces, buildings often lack handholds and require navigating unfamiliar surfaces like smooth siding, roofs, or glass. Skywalkers offers insight into the unique technical difficulties of urban climbing, which will help viewers understand the challenges Honnold faces when scaling a skyscraper instead of a natural cliff.

The documentary Skywalkers follows the adventurous relationship of climbers Angela Nikolau and Vanya Beerkus, who document both their romance and daring climbs. If you’re looking for a similar film focused on friendship instead of a love story, check out Roof Culture Asia. This film from the British parkour group Storror showcases a close-knit team of brothers and friends traveling through Asia. They filmed themselves performing incredible – and sometimes scary – illegal stunts on rooftops in cities like Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Seoul. Thankfully, everyone survived, which is good to know! (Skywalkers: A Love Story is available on Netflix, and Roof Culture Asia on Sling.)

Man on Wire

Man on Wire beautifully combines elements of several films. Like Skywalkers and Roof Culture Asia, it has the suspense of a heist movie because the main event was carried out in secret. And like Free Solo, it focuses on an extraordinary individual—Philippe Petit, a French high-wire artist with unmatched skill. Petit specialized in secretly rigging tightropes in cities and performing daring stunts. In 1971, he famously juggled while walking a cable between the towers of Notre Dame, and in 1974, he achieved a similar feat between the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers.

Philippe Petit famously walked on a wire stretched 1,312 feet above the ground, performing for nearly an hour to the delight of the crowd. The documentary Man on Wire details this incredible feat, drawing from Petit’s 2002 memoir, To Reach the Clouds, and featuring previously unseen footage of his planning, photos from the event, and interviews with those involved. The film is truly captivating, showcasing a man completely mastering his abilities while understanding his limits. It quickly builds trust in Petit’s skill, a feeling that extends to similar high-stakes endeavors like Alex Honnold’s climb of Taipei 101 – knowing that only someone with Honnold’s expertise would even attempt it, and that he wouldn’t proceed unless he felt prepared. (Available to stream on Tubi, Philo, Pluto TV, and more)

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2026-01-22 23:55