Vertical Limit Reviews

Initial Thought: I have always been curious about this one. I think I remember seeing it in my parents' movie collection. I never got the chance to check it out though. If they did have it they got rid of it soon after. Anyways the time has come for the cat to get its satisfaction.

Characters/Acting: I adore Robin Tunney so that's a plus. We also have the up and down Chris O'Donnell, the fairly interesting Temuera Morrison, the great Bill Paxton, and Scott Glenn. There are quite a few more recognizable names here too to my astonishment. I like the characters as people, but as climbers they aren't too bright. I mean if you are on a snowy mountain you do not scream for any reason lest you want to be covered in avalanche snow.

Story: A climber goes to rescue his sister who is stuck on one of the largest mountains "K2". Oh wow special effects have definitely come a long way since this film. The bird flying in the beginning looked just awful. That makes this feel a bit dated already. I didn't expect it to start out so intense like it did. It really pulled me in quick. I mean the stuff that happens here is a bit off the wall crazy unrealistic, but it's a movie so whatever it doesn't bother me. I'm sure though rock climbers might get aggravated though. There are also a few things that just happen leaving you scratching your head. They tried to make a few things a bit more intense than they should have been. There is pretty much no way that helicopter blade could have done that. The ending was a bit cheesy.

Directing/Writing: Most of Martin Campbell's work is excellent with the likes of Casino Royale (2006), Goldeneye, and Edge of Darkness to name a few. He unfortunately helmed Green Lantern as well. The screenplay is based off of the story by Robert King whom I've never heard of. Terry Hayes on the other hand is responsible for the second and third parts to the Mad Max franchise. With that in mind I may enjoy this.

Final Thought: It wasn't bad. In fact despite not being factual it was a little bit fun. It's not the best thing ever though. It's a one time watch at most. I'm excited for Everest with Jake Gyllenhaal. That will possibly be much more riveting. If you like survival movies you might enjoy this.

Even though I wasn’t expecting much from this flick, somehow, I was still eager to check it out. Basically, I think there is something fascinating about climbing, especially those guys who try to go for those amazingly high mountains like Mount Everest or K2. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I have a pretty nasty fear of heights so there is no way they get me out there. Furthermore, what’s the point of risking your life just to be able to get to the top of a mountain?!? It is a concept I find difficult to grasp, therefore, watching an action flick about climbing is enough thrills, as far as I’m concerned. Coming back to our main feature, well, it wasn’t really good, I’m afraid. I mean, Martin Campbell is a decent director and there were definitely some pretty cool action scenes but that’s about it. Indeed, even though the beginning was alright, pretty quickly, we were back into the world of those preposterous Hollywood thrillers with their annoying twists. The characters were not really interesting either so I lost interest pretty quickly while watching this. To conclude, even though the whole thing had some potential, it remains a rather weak action flick and I don’t think it is really worth a look.