Der Aufstieg - The Climb

This is a faith based mountain climbing film about two people from different worlds who decide to work together to achieve a lifelong dream of climbing a mountain peak. There are sub-plots to fill out the characters and the story which are all well done and even though the film is predictable it is engaging and entertaining. The film also has a great supporting cast of television character actors that you will recognize which helps to elevate the material (even if at times it feels like a TV movie of the week). I thought the two leads had very good chemistry and Dabny Coleman was an added bonus as he's always been a favorite of mine for years (and the number one reason why I decided to watch the film in the first place).

Contains real life scenarios that most people can relate to and is not at all preachy. They do give somewhat of a gospel message but are not at all in your face about it. Good acting, great production. Involves the lives of an unbeliever and a committed Christian forging a friendship based on a mutual goal. I really like that it portrays a relationship between the two men that is similar to relationships that I have had as a believer with unbelievers. This would be a great movie to watch with friends that you want to hear the gospel message without it seeming like you are showing them the movie just for that reason. I would highly recommend!

Your appreciation of this movie will be directly related to your own interest in matters of faith. Those of Christian faith (such as myself) and those with an interest in Christian faith will appreciate the values contained here; those who are antagonistic to Christian faith will find the evangelistic emphasis of the movie distasteful. Of course, my question would be why anyone antagonistic to an evangelical Christian message would watch a movie produced by World Wide Pictures, which is an arm of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association?

I don't like movies that have a hidden agenda (even a hidden evangelistic agenda) but here the agenda is clear-cut and expected, so it didn't bother me. The story is interesting enough, focusing around two young mountain climbers (Jason George and Ned Vaughn) who suddenly find themselves with an unexpected opportunity to team up and climb the highest peak in the Chilean Andes. Derrick Williams (George) is an angry atheist, while Michael Harris (Vaughn) is a faithful Christian. The relationship between the two grows as they train and then climb together, culminating in the totally predictable religious conversion of Derrick. Of course, the real suspense in this kind of movie is not whether the atheist is going to convert; it's what the chain of events leading to the conversion will be, and that was a decent enough story.

Featuring the likes of Dabney Coleman, Clifton Davis and Todd Bridges, you'll find this an entertaining story as long as the overtly religious tone of it isn't something that will turn you off.

7/10

Was great to watch a movie where real life issues were dealt with but where you didn't have to get dragged through a sewer to figure out who was the bad guy. Jason George does a very convincing job of playing the know it all. Ned Vaughn is very good in the roll of the conservative, play it safe type. Good music sound track. Very beautiful scenery. I would have liked to see more climbing scenes, but the action that was in the movie was very well done. It makes you wonder who is the better climber. The actors, or the camera man who has to drag a camera up ahead and make all the climbs before the actors can be filmed doing their roles. Overall the movie was very well done. It was wonderful to watch a movie where your ears weren't assaulted every five minutes with a string of profanity from one of the actors. Two Thumbs Up!

The story was very captivating and thought-provoking. The scenery of the mountains was beautiful, and the story brought tears to my eyes.

One thing I didn't particularly like was the sort of cheesy acting of the Mackie's owner, but I guess he was just supposed to be that way.

Great story...see it, and remember the high road!