Summit Fever

Half of Summit Fever is watching people climb. I know that may not seem like a criticism when that's what the movie is about. But you need more than that for it to feel like a real movie. I might as well watch a documentary or real footage of climbers.

The other half of Summit Fever is the most basic and useless character development and story setup. They throw in a love story that actually works but isn't necessary and doesn't make up for the rest of the movie.

I don't have much else to say. This movie is extremely boring with almost no intrigue. The main part of the story, the biggest mountain they will climb, doesn't happen until 70 minutes into the movie. By then I was mostly checked out. (1 viewing, 3/27/2023)

In this era, only the movies with heavy CGI get the good ratings.

Movies where Actors stay safe in a studio and everything else is made of fiction.

This movie is great, climbing is real, the snow is real, the mountains are real.

It's not a blockbuser , it's not gonna win academy awards. But it's got emotion it's got great mountain views,it has tension and it has a simple,but good story.

Hands down to the producer and all the actors, they have made a great job and I'm sure it wasn't an easy one

I love mountain climbing films so I said I'll give it a try. Ryan Philippe was the only actor I knew , although I don't know the other ones, I really liked them and they all made a great contribution to this. Freddie Thorp is a young actor but he sure is talented.

Definitely worth watching this!

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.

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.

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.