Vertical Limit | | Cast : | Chris O'Donnell, Scott Glenn, Bill Paxton | | Director : | Martin Campbell | | Studio : | Columbia Tri-Star | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby | | Released Date : | December 08, 2000 | | DVD Released Date : | August 03, 2004 | | Language : | French (Dubbed), English (Dubbed), French (Subtitled), English (Subtitled), English (Original Language), French (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | July 14, 2005 | | Summary | People get blowed up...blowed up real good! | Content
 | This film has its moments, though few. If any of you remember the yahoo film reviewers on the old SCTV comedy show, Big Bob McSomething and Billy Saul Hurrock, I think? They rated films highly based on the number of excrutiating explosions. Well those boys would have really liked Vertical Limit. And, yes, people do get blowed up, blowed up real good, with nitro.
Not that it is a totally bad film. The scenery is beautiful, but then again it is the high Himaliyas. The characters are corny and caricatures of those EXTREME types you see all summer. You know, always running, biking, climbing, yada, yada, yada. Scott Glenn as the zen mountain pondering savior of them all is almost comical. This all being said, Vertical Limit, will take up an evening if there is nothing else to do. |
| Rating | | | Date | March 17, 2005 | | Summary | A Fun Time but OVERKILL to the Extreme | Content
| I had high hopes for this film after seeing the thrilling opening sequence in Monument Valley, Utah; but, alas, it was not to be.
THE STORY: A famous female climber gets stuck in an ice cave with two others near the top of K2, the second highest mountain on Earth. Her brother, who has sworn off climbing because of his father's climbing death, has no choice but to assemble a team to rescue the trio.
WHAT WORKS: As already mentioned, the opening sequence is excellent, the locations (New Zealand Alps) are great, the story pretty much keeps your attention (until the absurdities really mount up -- pun intended) and both Robin Tunney & Izabella Scorupco are deliciously beautiful.
WHAT DOESN'T WORK: As the story continues the believability decreases severely. In fact, the crisis/suspense/action sequences are so EXTREME and strung so close together (especially as the movie proceeds) that they tend to make you bust out laughing -- the very OPPOSITE reaction the creators wanted. By the very end the ridiculous overkill made me lose interest in whatever story was supposed to be there.
FINAL ANALYSIS: I was hoping for something unexpectedly great like "The Edge," but ended up with a fun but ultimately shallow time-waster. For comparison, "Cliffhanger" is "Apocalypse Now" next to "Vertical Limit." |
| Rating | | | Date | March 05, 2005 | | Summary | Your standard action movie - with a beautiful view | Content
| Even though it's not only Chris O'Donnell I'm talking about...
A family consisting of a dad, a brother & a sister (no mention of a mother throughout the film) loves climbing - until an accident occurs while they are climbing in Monument Valley, Utah - with tragic results.
As a result of this tragedy - the brother, Peter, never climbs again & becomes (or continues) his career as a National Geographic photographer, while his sister, Annie, becomes a star climber. Their paths meet when Annie prepares to join a billionare on a climb on K - 2, the 2nd highest peak of the world, but far more dangerous than its better known & higher sibling, the Everest.
As to be expected - a storm strikes, some climbers are killed, others survive but are trapped in a cave somewhere, and have to make tough decisions, such as whether to bother helping a fellow climber who is still alive but is very badly wounded.
At the same time, brother Peter tries to organize a rescue mission that should be impossible, with a group of people that have their own story & history to motivate them to climb to the rescue with a pack of unstable nytroglycerine on their backs...
Well, as many other reviewrs probably mentioned - this is far from being a masterpiece. The plot is cliched & predictable, the characters shallow (and even more predictable than the plot), and many factual mistakes were probably made.
On the other hand, not one promised this movie was a masterpiece. The action was there, the happy ending was there, and the viewers had a good view (of the New Zealand alps) to boot, while X - File fans would've been glad to see the fimiliar face of Nick Lea.
The extra features were very good - raising my rating from 3 to 4 stars - which included a commenary & a few interesting documentaries, including 'making of'& K - 2 information. |
| Rating | | | Date | February 12, 2005 | | Summary | I Love This Movie... | Content
| I actually love this movie. I understand that people are saying the acting wasn't the best & I can see that but it's not horrible. I think the story line is great & the movie starts out with a big bang & ends the same way. It's very exciting. The actors went through vigorous training to make this movie & I think you can see it. They are actually on K2 & it's so awesome. Basically what happens is that Peter's sister goes lost while hiking with a team to the top of K2 & he forms a team to go after her & the other 2 survivors when odds are that they will be dead by the time they get there. Peter & the others risk their lives to save these 3. This movie is very action packed & I highly recommend it to anybody that is not going to be so nitpicky. If you need the most talented actors then pass it but if not don't miss it. |
| Rating | | | Date | January 09, 2005 | | Summary | Oh, Chill Out | Content
| I loved this movie. OK, so it's not one of the best ones out there, but c'mon, it is exciting. I've read so many reviews that give this movie such poor ratings; the reviewer thinks the acting is bad, or it's not realistic, or just plain humourous.. Yeah, the acting isn't the best, but isn't K2 REALLY the star in all this? Do you seriously watch this expecting "superb" acting talent? If you go into it expecting Emmy winning performances, honey, I've got a list of movies you SHOULD be watching, instead. As for the realism, HELLO! This is HOLLYWOOD! You want realism? Go watch the National Geographic Channel, or the Travel Channel. (...) But movies are meant to be fun, and silly and exciting and allow you to get lost in the absurdity for the moment. Isn't that why we go to movies in the first place? I don't know about you, but I get enough "realism" in my own life.
This is a fun, silly, exciting movie with great effects and a pretty good plot line. Go, enjoy the movie and get lost in the whirlwind, err, "avalanche" of it all, and just chill out. |
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