Summit Fever

In my opinion, the most glaring part of this movie is the one black character, Rudi, that appears in the beginning of the movie as part of the group, but then suddenly disappears, appearing only in the background until the last half of the film, and then disappears again. He's the only character whose story never gets fleshed out in any way, and never gets an official ending. Sad to see tokenism is still alive and well.

Other than that, it's an engaging film, the climbing scenes are done very well, and I found the lead actor particularly talented. However, one other oddity of this film were the touches of old school nods such as the disposable camera, the film camera, the 1950s looking radio, etc.. If you enjoy films about climbing and climbers, you'll probably enjoy this film.

Mountain climbing has been one of my great lifelong passions, therefore I rate this film highly. It captures the beautiful romantic but sometimes tragic obsession of the mountaineer for climbing higher. And it recognizes their sacrifices - of their personal relationships and often of their very lives. Climbing can be an aesthetic madness, an unquenchable fever that drives one to the very heights of extreme sport. It's not for everyone.

The photography of the Alps is simply breathtaking, highlighting the sharp, impossibly rugged summits in every direction. The technical climbing details portrayed are very accurate - the filmmakers here obviously know the climbing arts very well.

A couple of times a year, this film is shown on a local TV movie channel, and I always watch for it and never miss it. I love its homage to heroic mountaineering, and I appreciate it more each time I see it.

Ok, this isn't a masterpiece. But negativity it gets is totally undeserved. I mean, if you just want a simple movie to pass some time, I can totally recommend it. If you are a climber and have been to Chamonix yourself - even more so, since it is realistic enough to bring some memories back.

Acting and story are fine. Sure, there was a couple of times when I rolled my eyes and scoffed, but "a couple of times" is actually quite good by my standards. I mean, take almost any Oscar-winning blockbuster with some insane budget and it will be yet another mind-numbingly stupid piece of crap. Yet people still like it somehow, it will have 7+ score on IMDB and might even become a classic.

Now, here is a pretty solid drama/adventure movie. Honestly, I was even touched by it. Is it plausible? Well, yeah, as I've said, there are some questionable moments, technical stuff being done incorrectly, totally unrealistic timing and such, but given how bad climbing/mountaineering is usually represented in the movies - wow, this one is actually super realistic. Usually it doesn't even make sense what gear they use, and here they even manage to use it correctly most of the time. Places are totally real, scenery is real and recognizable, dangers are (mostly) real.

All in all, if you've never been to mountains - it's a nothing out of ordinary drama, don't expect anything special and you won't be disappointed. It surely isn't awful. And if you've been there yourself, you may as well appreciate how familiar all of this is instead of complaining over relatively minor details.

And, once again: this is NOT a masterpiece. Normally, I wouldn't even bother to comment, but it just felt so unjust that it currently has IMDB rating of below 5, while being a better adventure and love story than 90% of all Hollywood.

SUMMIT FEVER is one of the more disappointing mountaineering films out there, mainly because it has no real plot. At least thrillers like CLIFFHANGER and A LONELY PLACE TO DIE (which director Julian Gilbey also made) had thriller plots with a mountaineering backdrop, which gave them drive and narrative coherency. Here, we just get a group of dull young friends (and added Hollywood star Ryan Philippe for name value) who decide to go climb a few mountains. Tragedy strikes on occasion, but it's not very thrilling or indeed involving. Gilbey obviously has a real-life passion for mountaineering but I do wonder if this would have just worked better as a documentary.

There was a good film in in here somewhere, however, I feel that poor execution, casting, and weak writing (specifically the first half) let the entire concept down. If you can manage to get past the first 45min the film does become significantly more eventful and entertaining.....aided by lower reliance on the character "background" stories and any actual acting.

That being said, it's the first time since The Avengers (1998) that I kept looking at my watch praying for the agony to stop.

In terms of redemption, the climbing scenes were well executed and there are some beautiful cinematic sequences of the mountains.

Probably not the worst film I've ever seen, and I've likely been harsh with my rating so take with a pinch of salt.