An average movie

I already saw this movie but since it was such a long time ago, I was quite eager to watch it again. In fact, I remember it quite well, at the time of its release, there was quite some buzz about this flick. Indeed, 5 years after ‘L’amant’, Jean-Jacques Annaud was finally coming up with a new prestigious international production and the expectations were rather high. On top of that, it was starring Brad Pitt, already one of the biggest stars in the world, so there was a fair chance it would be a critical and/or commercial hit. Eventually, even though some people really loved it, most viewers thought (me included) that it was a decent drama but not much more than that though. Indeed, even though it was a great story, it didn't turn out to be a great movie though. First of all, back then, this movie was one of Brad Pitt's first attempts to be taken seriously but even though he really looked the part, his performance was actually rather weak and he would need at least another decade to finally own his current status. Concerning the rest of the movie, it was visually pretty neat but it was a mistake to turn this story into an anti-Chinese pamphlet when it should have been more about the spiritual journey of a cocky selfish world class climber becoming a more thoughtful man. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still an interesting story and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

6/10