Directed by:
Baltasar KormákurCinematography:
Salvatore TotinoComposer:
Dario MarianelliCast:
Jason Clarke, Jake Gyllenhaal, Josh Brolin, John Hawkes, Sam Worthington, Robin Wright, Michael Kelly, Keira Knightley, Emily Watson, Thomas M. Wright (more)VOD (5)
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Expert mountaineers Rob Hall (Jason Clarke) and Scott Fischer (Jake Gyllenhaal) lead rival expeditions to scale the highest peak on Earth, Mount Everest. Their quest becomes dangerous when the fearless climbers collide head-on with one of the fercest blizzards in the mountain’s history. Faced against impossible conditions, the limits of human spirit and physical endurance are put to the ultimate test in an epic struggle for survival in this chilling, edge-of-your-seat thriller based on actual events. (Universal Pictures UK)
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Every time I watched the trailer for Everest my room shook and I got goosebumps all the way up my ass. The movie, however, gave me that feeling only three times at most and that's a damn shame. There are a lot and issues that I would have liked to see differently. The film is a big mess in places mainly because of the many characters (there are so many names that you can't manage to remember everyone in one screening), the deaths weren’t impressive at all, I understand that the film is based on true events, but with so many characters it’s a damn shame that the film doesn't go for a gritty survival thriller; I would definitely have welcomed some villain here as well as a comedy-relief character to lighten the atmosphere, and unfortunately for me the emotions don’t work either. Jake Gyllenhaal ????... and 25 more question marks. But not to merely criticise, the film has stunning visuals, a likeable Jason Clarke, nicely paced sequences, an unexpected ending and a decent atmosphere, but I personally would have liked a more intense style and execution. A reluctant four stars. 70%
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A pleasantly civil, down-to-earth, and male spectacle (despite the presence of female elements) that wrings pathos from the fact that the protagonists are really hurting and the adrenaline pumps as if only in the background. This is because they die without grand gestures and the returns from the brink of death are dogged to the last breath. The casting couldn't be better because these actors cut through liters of emotion and personal feelings even over the phone, and in the audiovisual mode it's borderline hypnotic at times. I might have trimmed the more rambling first half a bit, but the second half is a pure action adventure that will have you locked in your seat by the time the credits roll.
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A precise survival drama with a fantastic cast that in some cases is too good given the few lines they have. The experiential capacity of the film is substantial. In some scenes it manages to grip and amaze, not only through the mountain setting, but also with the convincingly performed suffering of the leading characters. Things get unfortunately a little chaotic after some time with them covered in jackets and hoods and with the snow falling, they all look very similar and there were moments that I wasn’t really sure who was who. But overall, a recommending thumbs up.
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The journey to a place where the human body dies, in the story of people who knew very well how much they were risking, but still went for it. Nothing more, but certainly nothing less. And even though I don't understand the self-destructive behavior of the main heroes, thanks to the brilliant cast, I feel like I have at least glimpsed beyond the first summit. The intensity with which the highest mountain in the world siccs its pitfalls on climbers nails you to your seat, and the moment a storm appears, the cinema is already shaken to the core and the viewer knows they are in for a rough ride. And every gasp for breath almost hurts in your own lungs.
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The filmmakers’ indecisiveness about which of the roughly six more significant characters would be the main protagonist probably stems in part from the fact that they relied on the memories of all of the survivors and their loved ones in an attempt at a comprehensive view of the tragedy instead of relying on a single source (Krakauer’s book, which had already been made into the television movie Into Thin Air: Death on Everest, would have served the purpose). No time or space remains for the more thorough development of the characters, who comprise merely a few types; usually the more interesting they are, the more charismatic the actor playing them (the cocky Texan, the easy-going American mountain guide, the responsible New Zealand mountain guide, the humble mailman who wants to fulfil his dream, the loving and caring women). Despite the faint outlining of the characters, the first hour of the film is important, as that is when, in addition to the dangers that await them, we are presented with the relationships between the characters and their ambitions and motivations. We thus better remember their names and later, despite the layer of frozen snow and the dark glasses on their faces, we can recognise who is shouting at whom. At the same time, the fatal decisions that some of the characters make (the bond between Rob and Doug) are more understandable and we are also better able to find our bearings in the individual sections of the journey to the summit, which are presented to us in advance. Whereas the formula of a disaster film is fulfilled by spreading attention among multiple characters, the disaster itself does not serve as punishment for the sins committed by the immoral characters. Atypically, perhaps out of respect for the victims, this is a drama about a group of good people who try to help other good people (The Martian will probably offer a similar story soon). There is no enemy to be defeated, nor is there a character who is supposed to see the light and undergo a transformation based on experience (if he had been a bit more inattentive toward his wife, Beck could have fulfilled this pattern of development). The will to survive is crucial. There is something similarly and likably old-world about the idea of “we have to help each other” as there is about the strictly linear narrative with no flashbacks and with a single (inappropriate) dream sequence. All of the information conveyed, which seems needless on the surface, is put to good use by Kormákur in the film’s second, extremely intense half with astonishing momentum (literally in places) and only a few sentimental moments (though the narrative is structured around them – see the storyline with the unborn child – so they are not superfluous). It serves no purpose to confront the protagonists with the question that will probably occur to every viewer who is not a mountain climber – why do they do it? After all, the rules of the game are not set by people in the second half, but by nature. In the spirit of the cinema of attractions (not intellectual), the aim is to provide an immediate visceral experience. In hindsight, I realise that’s not much. Immediately after the screening (IMAX 3D), however, with the subsiding feeling that I had just descended from the summit of the world’s tallest mountain, I found that I could not have wanted anything more. 75%
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