Thinking about giving it another go, but still thinking hard!
Thinking about giving it another go, but still thinking hard!
Member since:07.06.2001
Reviews:44
Members who trust:43
No, this opinion does not focus on those unfortunate people such as myself, who find their own dizzying height a hindrance to their everyday lives. If I start sharing with you my constant distress at having to squeeze myself (bent double) into coach and bus seating, I may just start to weep.
No, dear friends, this opinion confronts the newest Hollywood genre of them all, the event movie.
The concept behind films like this and others (such as Independence Day, Jurassic Park and Twister), is to take a budget big enough to make Solomon blush and spend only a small amount of it on the actors, saving several lottery wins worth of cash for the special effects. This is the most successful format to date and Vertical Limit is no exception.
I must firstly say that for me, this feature (or Cliffhanger with attitude) is a film containing more desperate rushing around than an incontinent ice-skater trying to find a toilet, more action than a sexually frustrated man on an island populated only by nymphomaniacs and more thrills than, well, you get my (snow) drift.
We
focus on the lives of two siblings, Peter (Chris O’Donnell) and his sister (Robin Tunney) and how their lives are torn apart by the death of their mountain-climbing father after a horrific accident. Following this incident that Peter blames himself for (smell like Cliffhanger, yet?), he and his sister part company only to be reunited once more for the beginning of a high-profile climbing expedition to scale the highest peak of the mighty K2.
Peter’s traumatic experience has made him withdraw completely from climbing (hmmm, familiar?); his sister however, is one of the lead climbers in this mighty media event assisting a rich and powerful Richard Branson knock off (played superbly as ever by Bill Paxton). Despite Peter’s almost psychic knowledge of icy fronts (just like my ex-girlfriend) and desperate attempts to dissuade his sister from embarking on this potential tragedy, the group begin their ascent.
From here it is easy to summarise this film with little or no effort; the expedition goes horribly wrong and the climbers are trapped with little or no hope of survival, our hero gathers a shower of suicidal and hopelessly stupid individuals to mount a rescue attempt, they attempt a rescue (surprisingly).
This film throws in as many cheap movie clichés as can be read in the ‘Penguin illustrated guide to filmmaking’ and still more of these cheesy snowballs mercilessly hit the audience in the face. Loosely connected, like Ted Rogers’ answers on 3-2-1, we discover the revenge story, the minor love interest, the surprising, yet not too surprising death scenes, the bad guy, the good guy, and the reconciliation. Must I go on?
If you are searching for a dynamic plot, you are reading the wrong review; this is not a deep psychological examination of the trauma of isolation or near-death experiences (like Alive clearly was). This film is simply this; fantastical escapism with a great deal of crampons and no, that was not a typo.
As the great peak of K2 takes on a life of it’s own, so too does the action. It is impossible to take a breath before visual impact so heart stopping, so compelling and yet so incredibly predictable throws the viewer completely off guard. Helicopters, bombs, avalanches, fight scenes and death-defying leaps are stuffed tighter in to this movie than my stomach was shoehorned into my jeans after Christmas dinner.
This truly is breathtaking as an event film and leads the way with the majority of it’s effects. I say majority after recalling the opening scenes; the totally shocking CGI eagle and the climbing scene that was so utterly awful, I swore I could see the blue background.
This aside, Vertical Limit is a truly fantastic action-adventure movie. It oozes adrenaline in all the right places (is that possible?), shocks and surprises with original and well-captured stunts and includes acting just good enough to keep the audience interested but not overshadow the all-important sub-zero set pieces.
The additional features for the film are excellent. More featurettes than you could shake a ski at, a very interesting (if totally and unashamedly Americanised) documentary about scaling the dizzy heights of K2 and the obligatory commentaries and filmographies.
The disc set is extremely well put together including a booklet of production notes, a great looking case and also, the chance to win a holiday to New Zealand (watch the featurette to find out why it’s there). The film can be watched in English or Hungarian (not sure of the relevance there), with enough subtitle languages to keep any foreign exchange student happy and the widescreen presentation and sound quality are flawless.
This film takes action-thriller-drama to dizzying new (and cold) heights and for those of you that have trouble climbing a ladder without experience mind numbing terror, this film will convince you to remain firmly grounded for the remainder of your life.
Not a bad thing, really, I get dizzy standing upright.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
Production Year: 2002 - Action/Adventure - Director: Vincenzo Natali - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Lucy Liu, David Hewlett, Anne Marie Scheffler, Joseph Scoren, Matthew Sharp, Jeremy Northam
Fab review and a great read ( I love a bit of humour in an op ) I watched this a while ago and found the special fx rather good but some of the acting was a bit wooden, especially from Robin Tunney! It did while away a few hours though :) Nicola
jenny_carr 30.07.2001 23:28
I'm thinking of hiring this one out...likes quite good to me. Thnx, Jen :)
The Mountain Will Decide. An emotionally-charged action-adventure tale of a retired ... more
climber (Chris O'‚´Donnell) who must launch a treacherous and extraordinary rescue effort up K2 the world'‚´s second highest peak to save his estranged sis...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
An edge-of-your-seat action adventure story, 'Vertical Limit' is the high-adrenaline tale ... more
of young climber Peter Garrett (Chris O'Donnell - Batman & Robin), who must launch a treacherous and extraordinary rescue effort up K2, the world's second hig...
Jul 30th, 2001
very helpful by (100%):
