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If you're looking to watch a tale about people surviving mother nature's harsh elements, do not look to this film. If you'd rather watch a film where ego and stupid decision end up killing a bunch of people, watch Everest. I still think that horror films are the better choice when watching people making stupid decisions and dying, but Everest is up there.
The film details the summit of Everest in 1996, where several people lost their lives. Jake Gyllenhaal and Jason Clarke play two mountaineers who take civilians up to the peak. Of those civilians, two of them are played by Josh Brolin, a rich Texan and John Hawks, an older man trying for his third time to finally reach the top. Along for the trek is a journalist recording the feat. An impressive cast, which is rounded out by Sam Worthington, Robin Wright, Emily Watson and Keira Knightley, Everest isn't short on talent.
I guess my problem is that the film fakes you into thinking this is a tale about survival, and for a few people it is, specifically Brolin who is left outside to die by a few men who have taken shelter. I guess this might be my own fault for not knowing the story beforehand, but seeing people literally give up and accept death is hard. It's even harder knowing that their bodies are still up there, in the world's biggest open grave, frozen for all time. It's disgusting to know that some people take the trek and pass these bodies, to take selfies with them. Scott Fischer's wife has mentioned her hatred for this and it's easy to see why.
While the film is impressive to look at, the lack of characterization makes connecting with these people a little hard. We get basic personalities to tell them apart and even then, it is extremely difficult to know who is who when they are climbing. I felt bad for the people back home who had to receive phone calls that their loved one isn't coming home, instead he's dead on a mountain and you'll never be able to bury the body. So why do this? Why risk your life to reach the top? The most common response, "because it's there". Good enough for some people. Being in the elite few who have reached the highest point on Earth is an accomplishment.
Everest isn't like Vertical Limit, people are not jumping around on the ice, performing impossible feats, it's grounded in realism. The image on the poster of the man holding on to a ladder for his life is in the film. It's probably the only time some kind of cinematic action takes place. The rest of the film revolves around them climbing up, slowly, then climbing down slowly. Don't expect action, or excitement, expect a depressing look at the people who don't make it back to the ground and those that do, are sometimes scarred for life, literally.
Everest
If you're looking to watch a tale about people surviving mother nature's harsh elements, do not look to this film. If you'd rather watch a film where ego and stupid decision end up killing a bunch of people, watch Everest. I still think that horror films are the better choice when watching people making stupid decisions and dying, but Everest is up there.
The film details the summit of Everest in 1996, where several people lost their lives. Jake Gyllenhaal and Jason Clarke play two mountaineers who take civilians up to the peak. Of those civilians, two of them are played by Josh Brolin, a rich Texan and John Hawks, an older man trying for his third time to finally reach the top. Along for the trek is a journalist recording the feat. An impressive cast, which is rounded out by Sam Worthington, Robin Wright, Emily Watson and Keira Knightley, Everest isn't short on talent.
I guess my problem is that the film fakes you into thinking this is a tale about survival, and for a few people it is, specifically Brolin who is left outside to die by a few men who have taken shelter. I guess this might be my own fault for not knowing the story beforehand, but seeing people literally give up and accept death is hard. It's even harder knowing that their bodies are still up there, in the world's biggest open grave, frozen for all time. It's disgusting to know that some people take the trek and pass these bodies, to take selfies with them. Scott Fischer's wife has mentioned her hatred for this and it's easy to see why.
While the film is impressive to look at, the lack of characterization makes connecting with these people a little hard. We get basic personalities to tell them apart and even then, it is extremely difficult to know who is who when they are climbing. I felt bad for the people back home who had to receive phone calls that their loved one isn't coming home, instead he's dead on a mountain and you'll never be able to bury the body. So why do this? Why risk your life to reach the top? The most common response, "because it's there". Good enough for some people. Being in the elite few who have reached the highest point on Earth is an accomplishment.
Everest isn't like Vertical Limit, people are not jumping around on the ice, performing impossible feats, it's grounded in realism. The image on the poster of the man holding on to a ladder for his life is in the film. It's probably the only time some kind of cinematic action takes place. The rest of the film revolves around them climbing up, slowly, then climbing down slowly. Don't expect action, or excitement, expect a depressing look at the people who don't make it back to the ground and those that do, are sometimes scarred for life, literally.