Big Mountain, Big Silliness

Vertical Limit (2000) – An attempt to climb one of the highest
mountains in the world goes wrong when ego slams into severe weather
on an unforgiving climb.

Directed by Martin Campbell Starring Scott Glenn,
Chris O’Donnell, Bill Paxton

Why I Liked It – Sometimes all you want is the
action. Logic out the window!

If you are into or are knowledgeable about the
following subjects, you may not want to watch this movie – mountain
climbing, helicopters, nitroglycerin, and the medical condition
called High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE). Based on reactions to
the movie, and what little I know about any of them, “Vertical
Limit” gets almost everything wrong. Again, based on the reactions
of people who know a lot more about these subjects than I do, it gets
them “screaming-outrage-at-the-screen” wrong.

If you don’t care that much about getting the
details right, this movie is a lot of fun. In that “check your
brain at the door” category. No one is going to mistake this as a
great movie, or a classic, or a must see. It got some love for the
special effects, which are pretty cool. But the plot is predictable,
the acting is good enough, and there are plenty of moments of tension
and thrills.

And some days, that’s all you need.

O’Donnell plays a climbing guide from a family
of big time climbers. Believing that a decision he made killed his
father, he’s quit. His sister Annie (Robin Tunney) has become a top
tier climber. A wealthy businessman (Paxton) hires Annie and another
guide (played by by Nicholas Lea) to lead to the top of K2, the
second highest mountain on the planet. Despite repeated
recommendations to turn back as the weather deteriorates, they push
up the mountain. Disaster strikes. Everything is predictable. The
strain between the siblings over the father’s death, the ego driven
businessman, the unlikely saves as the rescue team climbs to find the
climbers. There’s even a grizzled old climbing legend who has left
it all behind to wrestle with his inner demons (Glenn).

It’s all very silly.

And I watched it to the end.

“Vertical Limit” does enough right to carry
you along. If you can close your mind to a jumpy story line, plus the
resolute ignorance of the facts, you’ll have some fun. This is a
“Saturday afternoon when it’s raining and there’s nothing
better to do” kind of movie. But it will fill that time slot
entertainingly.

Sure it’s movie junk food. Sometimes that’s
what hits the spot.

Rating – *** Worth A Look

(Yes, the movie is just this cheesy)