Vertical Limit

Years after he and his sister survived a climbing accident where their father died, Peter and Annie Garrett find themselves on K2 for different reasons. Peter is on the foothills taking pictures for National Geographic, while Annie is part of the documentary crew with playboy millionaire Elliot Vaughn, who is aiming to reach the summit in time to promote the launch of his new airline. However when a storm comes in., most of the party are killed with only Elliot, Annie and leader Tom surviving in a crevice. Peter puts together a rescue mission, led by veteran Montgomery Wick.

It is just this film's bad luck that I watched it only a matter of days after I saw the much better Touching The Void. That film had me on the edge of my seat with my mouth agape at times with a story of a climbing accident and the aftermath. However Vertical Limit doesn't go for realism at any point. The plot is a real mess; it doesn't risk having it's thrills from the effects of the mountain so it also adds a traditional bad guy and a `wages of fear' twist involving the climbers carrying nitro in their backpacks. That's not to say the film doesn't have exciting moments - the opening scene is very dramatic and powerful (despite O'Donnell's crap wide-eyed acting) but it never reaches that again. Instead, it settles for effect shots of climbers hanging over great heights etc. These are visually impressive and they do manage to get a sense of urgency to them but it never lasts long.

It's a shame, because Cliffhanger was enjoyable and Void showed that the real drama can come from just the mountain itself, however here it keeps adding more stuff to try and force drama out of the situation. The lack of real characters is a problem - instead we have very wide clichés almost; `dudes', wise old men, ruthless billionaires, sexy mountain chick and clean cut siblings. Aside from the opening sequence, it is hard to feel an emotional connection to any of them and, as the latest disposable actor hangs over a drop awaiting the chop I was more focused on how good it looked rather than nerves over the outcome. O'Donnell is as bland as he often can be and didn't impress me at all; likewise Tunney was a bit `all-American' for my taste. Paxton could have been sending up Richard Branson if he hadn't been playing it so straight. In a similar vein, Glenn would have been better if he'd put his tongue in his cheek and acknowledged how daft his character was! The support cast or `drop monkeys' as I call them are an average enough bunch but the film basically kills them off one by one like a horror movie - to much audience apathy I might add.

Overall this is an OK film if you can just turn off your brain and enjoy the vertigo-inducing effects. However with no good plot, dialogue or characters it will be very difficult for anyone to really get involved in the film beyond this aspect. I can only plea to you to seek out a film with a fraction the budget of this and that's Touching The Void. It is a true story with no digital effects but it is a similar setting but much, much better.

I had high hopes for this film after seeing the thrilling opening sequence in Monument Valley, Utah; but, alas, it was not to be.

THE STORY: A famous female climber gets stuck in an ice cave with two others near the top of K2, the second highest mountain on Earth. Her brother, who has sworn off climbing because of his father's climbing death, has no choice but to assemble a team to rescue the trio.

WHAT WORKS: As already mentioned, the opening sequence is excellent, the locations are great (the New Zealand Alps), the story pretty much keeps your attention (until the absurdities really mount up -- pun intended) and both Robin Tunney & Izabella Scorupco are deliciously beautiful.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: As the story continues the believability decreases severely. In fact, the crisis/suspense/action sequences are so EXTREME and strung so close together (especially as the movie proceeds) they tend to make you bust out laughing -- the very OPPOSITE reaction the creators wanted. By the very end the ridiculous overkill made me lose interest in whatever story was supposed to be there.

FINAL ANALYSIS: I was hoping for something unexpectedly great like "The Edge," but ended up with a fun but ultimately shallow time-waster. For comparison, "Cliffhanger" is "Apocalypse Now" next to "Vertical Limit."

GRADE: C.

Usually I do not care very much for mountain climbing films as they usually have a very similar plot. This film had plenty of action with Helicopters flying all over the place and horrible snow storms and also entrapment in caves deep under tons of snow and ice. The film starts out with a father, son and daughter adventuring up a steep mountain during a very sunny day and having a wonderful time with each other. Their father was a very experienced climber and all of a sudden a tragic situation happens and a horrible life or death decision had to be made within seconds. There is lots of scary scenes and plenty of explosions and more action than you can handle.

In this high-octane action film, three climbers make stupid decisions at 26,000 feet, en route to the summit of K2, the world's second highest mountain. The climber's peril thus necessitates a rescue, which puts additional people on the mountain and at risk of dying. That's it. The story is thus fairly thin, but the filmmakers insert all kinds of natural and human obstacles, conflict, and difficulties to rev up the action and excitement.

The film's CGI creates compelling tension. We have the illusion of vertical scale, or perspective, which translates into a needed sense of vertigo. The sensation that the characters could, at any moment, fall to their deaths is the film's strength.

The mountain scenery is also nice, although it is sometimes wasted, because of the film's fast pace. Cinematography is quite good. And some of the scene transitions make the film flow really well.

Dialogue seems flat to me. Production design and costumes are adequate. Acting is largely irrelevant.

By far, the biggest flaw is the unrealistic amount of action. In the plot, everything that could go wrong does go wrong, from bad weather to avalanches to exploding nitro to human conflict and discord. It's all a bit much. But, that seems to be a problem inherent to outdoor action films. Directors cram in too much chaos.

Another minus is the background music, which is irritatingly nondescript. For a film set mostly in Asia, I could have wished for more indigenous music which, when combined with the majesty of the mountains, could have added emotional depth and a sense of mystery and awe.

"Vertical Limit" does have an emotional spine to its story, but that is secondary to the super action plot. Viewers who expect well thought out characters, meticulous plotting, or a subtle "theme" will need to look elsewhere. This film is strictly for people who like heavy-duty outdoor action.

I'm surprised by all the hostility shown toward this movie on IMDb. Had I read the reviews here, I would have skipped this well-made and entertaining film. For one thing, it was a pleasure to see an action movie that didn't involve guns and shooting - enough of that nonsense. Instead, this film is full of spectacular scenery, good looking actors and actresses, and some unexpected insights into issues of morality, judgment and sacrifice. As far as the accuracy about details of climbing, I couldn't care less. This is not a how-to movie. And as for the wisdom of transporting nitroglycerin across dangerous terrain, check out Henri-Georges Clouzot's masterpiece, "The Wages of Fear" or its excellent remake by William Friedkin, "Sorcerer." Neither one of these great films was hampered by such a questionable premise. I highly recommend "Vertical Limit" for exciting escapism.