Director: Baltasar Kormákur Starring: Jason Clarke, Jake Gyllenhaal, Keira Knightley, Josh Brolin, Robin Wright, Sam Worthington, John Hawkes, Emily Watson Writers: William Nicholson, Simon Beaufoy | 3.5/5 Everest Throughout Everest, the explorers leading the expeditions worry that their business, which involves them doing the best they can to get high-paying tourists to the summit of the world’s highest peak, will go under if they do not get more customers. After watching Baltasar Kormákur’s white-knuckle adventure/disaster-fest, real world expedition companies may have an even harder time convincing people to drop down $65,000 for their service. If Jaws scared people out of the waters, Everest is sure to get them away from mountains. The film follows the true story of Rob Hall's (Jason Clarke) ill-fated expedition up the Nepalese mountain. After joining his team with fellow leader Scott Fischer’s (Jake Gyllenhaal), Hall is faced with a barrage of problems. For starters, the mountain is overpopulated. With only a narrow sliver of a path to the peak, this is obviously not ideal. Lastly, there is a major storm brewing, set to strike soon after the climbers are scheduled to be back in base camp. It does not matter if this story is true or not; if you have ever seen a disaster movie before, you know where this is headed. Murphy’s Law: anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. That adage is no truer than it is here. As far as awe-inspiring visuals and minute-to-minute thrills go, there are none better this side of Fury Road. There are a few scenes when it’s obvious that the film is being filmed in other, more earthbound locations - filming was not allowed past base camp -, but the visual power is not diminished because of it. From beginning to end, Mount Everest is a God-like presence, always a blink away from bestowing judgement on all those who dare scale its heights. The film’s title character is by far its most vital. |
It’s when Kormákur tries to incorporate the other characters that his film begins to collapse. For starters, there is just one too many. You will only be able to remember Rob’s name when it’s all said and done; the rest of them are just faces. It helps that many of the forgettable supporting characters are played by A-list stars. Josh Brolin, John Hawkes, Robin Wright, Emily Watson, Keira Knightley, and Sam Worthington are all along for the climb. If I were to name off the most important characters, I would say it would be Rob and Brolin’s Beck; and that’s only because they are the only two with off-mountain cutaway characters - Knightley and Wright play their wives. While characters like Michael Kelly’s journalist do not warrant a second thought, it must be said that all the actors give it their best.
My advice: go see Everest and keep on visiting your local rock-climbing gym. Afterwards, go home and set your computer wallpaper to a scenic view of the mountain. Whatever you do, stay away from that mountain if you value your life. Call me a wuss, but I’m staying as close to sea level as I can get.
My advice: go see Everest and keep on visiting your local rock-climbing gym. Afterwards, go home and set your computer wallpaper to a scenic view of the mountain. Whatever you do, stay away from that mountain if you value your life. Call me a wuss, but I’m staying as close to sea level as I can get.