Everest: Movie Review
I really wanted to be blown away by “Everest”. This is amazing true story about a group of mountain climbers who set off to tackle Mount Everest in 1996, only to be hit by the most violent storm mankind could ever face. With a fantastic cast that includes Jason Clarke, John Hawkes, Josh Brolin, Jake Gyllenhaal, and many others, plus been given the IMAX 3D treatment, I was sure this would be something thrilling. Despite the cast bringing their A-Game, I found myself largely disappointed by the film. I don’t want to put the blame solely on director Baltasar Kormákur, but if you look at his track record (“2 Guns”, “Contraband”), his film’s aren’t exactly memorable. The material is there for a great film, unfortunately this just isn’t it.
In May of 1996 Rob Hall (Clarke) lead his team which included Doug Hansen (Hawkes), Jon Krakauer (Michael Kelly), Beck Weathers (Brolin), Yasuko Namba (Naoko Mori), and others on a dangerous climb up Mount Everest. With other teams competing to reach the top, Rob’s team and a second team lead by Scott Fischer (Gyllenhaal) partnered up to help the climb go smoothly. The higher they got, the more difficult it became for some of the team members to push on. Breathing became difficult and the human body begins to fail. Despite the obvious heath risks, these men and women are willing to suffer great pains to reach the top of the world’s most famous mountain.
It is when the teams start their final ascent towards the summit, that things take a turn for the worst. A massive storm hits while many of the climbers are still near the top of the mountain and it suddenly becomes a fight for survival and we know that not all of them are going to win that battle.
Clarke and Brolin are as good here as you would expect, and the same goes for the rest of the cast. Although Keira Knightley and Robin Wright don’t have much to work with as the women who are waiting home while their men are on the mountain, they make the best with what they are given.
“Everest” just takes too long to get going (and yes, I know its a true story). It feels like the film is already mid-way through by the time they begin the actual climb and even then things just feel tedious. I never once felt any serious thrills while watching these men and women fight for their lives. Despite my issues with “Everest”, I will say that if you feel the need to go see it in a theater, then you should shell out the few extra dollars and upgrade to the IMAX 3D experience. The views are spectacular and easily one of the better aspects of the film. Thankfully, for the first week of release for “Everest”, your only option will be to see it in IMAX as it won’t be shown on regular screens until September 25th.
By: Marc Ferman
