AndyCordReviews

With a style of animation much inspired by Studio Ghibli, this is a simple story about mountain climbing, but more importantly about how far one is willing to go when following their passions.

We follow mostly two characters, the mountain climber Habu and the photojournalist Fukamachi and how their obsession might have more in common than they think.

The eternal question of why, why do people make certain decisions that may put their life at risk? Why do they constantly push their limits? Is it the competition that drives them? Is it something else? Is there a right or wrong answer to all these questions? This is what this movie is about at its core.

It is at times a bit slow-paced, but even if you don't enjoy the story that much, it's impossible not to be completely taken back by the quality of animation and its breathtaking scenes, music, and sound effects.

I truly enjoyed this film, the characters are so well constructed and have so many nuances that picking apart the personality of these characters is actually great, and the more I think about the complexity of the characters the more I love it.

Now your focus has to be undividedly on the movie and in taking all the pieces of information the characters give you, as well as the time period where this is all set, old western America, where you are supposed to live a certain way and are supposed to conform to the way things are.

Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, and Kodi Smit-McPhee all play complex characters with Cumberbatch and McPhee being the most fleshed-out characters, but I still loved what Dunst and Plemons were able to bring.

Cumberbatch to me was outstanding, the way we dive into his complex character as we slowly start to understand where his behavior is coming from is so subtle, emotional, and powerful, I just loved how everything is slowly and methodically deconstructed without feeding too much information at the same time to the audience, but rather an unravel of a character throughout the movie.

Overall, this is a beautifully made psychodrama movie with breathtaking cinematography, great character development, and a strong nuanced story. I truly loved how the story softly develops in this harsh and cruel time period.

The cinematography is breathtaking, the costume and makeup flawless, and the use of practical effects works so well in this movie that makes it pop out off the screen.

The cast, also superb, is able to shine on an individual level, with the movie being separated by three acts that each show the perspective of one of the main characters, you are able to dive into these characters and by the end, you'll be holding your breath as the last duel takes place. Jodie Comer did excellent work, with her subtle expressions setting the tone for the way other characters ultimately interacted with her, and even though the story is the same in the three acts, you always feel like you are watching something new and fresh and that is thanks to the amazing performances on screen. Matt Damon and Adam Driver are also excellent, and the interactions between the characters and the different ways they interpret certain events is compelling and I, for one, wasn't able to keep my eyes off the screen.

Now, I don't know what happened to the marketing for this film, but it was done poorly, I mean a new movie by Scott with an amazing cast, set in the medieval time period, how could they mess this up I will never know. But I was grateful to have been able to watch this movie on the big screen. Now be warned, this movie is violent in more ways than one, so please don't take children to watch this and then complain the movie is too much.