Directed by: Baltasar Kormákur
Screenplay by: William Nicholson and Simon Beaufoy
There's mountain climbing, and then there's climbing Mt. Everest.
Since Edmund Hillary and Tenzig Norgay became the first people to climb Mt. Everest in 1953, many people have attempted to climb the world's tallest mountain. By 1996, Rob Hall (Jason Clarke) was leading guided expeditions to the top of the mountain. This is the story of one of his trips.
Rob is not the only person who leads people to the top of the mountain. There are others as well, such as Scott Fischer, who lead trips up to Mt. Everest. Everybody wants to get to the summit as fast as possible and on a day where the weather won't be too bad. On Rob's journey, there are people from many different walks of life; like Yasuko Namba (Naoko Mori), who has climbed 6 of the 7 tallest mountains in the world (all but Mt. Everest); Jon Krakauer (Michael Kelly), an outdoors journalist on the trek following Hall's guiding company Adventure Consultants, and whose now best-selling book Into Thin Air is about this expedition; and a man who just wants to climb Mt. Everest because it's there, Beck Weathers (Josh Brolin). Together they'll endure conditions the human body simply isn't meant to handle, and go on the journey of a lifetime while hoping for a safe return.
This is not the exciting action packed movie the trailer might have shown it to be. This is the kind of movie that might inspire people to go climb a giant mountain until the weather turns bad. Then, you might think it's best to stay home and let others try it. This is the story of how eight hikers died in the deadliest day in Mt. Everest's history. And it obviously does not have a happy ending.
Initially, Everest seems like it will be a movie about a team that has to deal with a deadly situation, and that while not all members of the team will survive the situation, those that do will bond and become closer. The characters are poorly developed. It is clear that this is not Rob's first journey to the summit of the mountain, nor does he plan on it being his last. His wife, Jan (Keira Knightley), also a mountaineer, would be with him on this trip but instead she is at home in New Zealand pregnant with their first child. It is not clear what Beck Weathers does for a living. All that is known about him is that he's a Dole-Kemp supporter based on the t-shirt he wears upon his arrival. They all meet up in Kathmandu, Nepal ahead of their trek first to base camp, and then up the mountain. Most of these people meet for the first time in Kathmandu.
As the film progress, another character enters the picture, Mt. Everest itself. Komakur portrays the mountain excellently as it feels as if it is a character in the film. People talk about it like it is a character; "The last word always belongs to the mountain", one character states. Even Rob Hall mentions something that makes the journey seem absolutely crazy, "Human beings simply aren't meant to function at the cruising altitude of a 747. Our bodies will be literally dying." The actual characters seem to be a loosely fit together band of people that don't necessarily get along perfectly, lacking the bonding experience that some audiences may expect to see during this film.
The cinematography is great, showing how conditions can change so quickly on Mt. Everest, and how hikers have to adapt quickly. The film also takes audiences on a step-by-step journey through hiking up the mountain, but focuses on some areas more than others (like the Hillary Step towards the summit more than the ice fields at the bottom of the mountain). The film gives audiences a good look at what it might be like to actually be on the hike. However, the IMAX 3D may not be necessary. It doesn't add much to the experience of watching the film.
Unlike other disaster movies where one by one, members of the team are killed off and mourned, Komakur simply has us move on after each death of a character. For some reason, it feels like we aren't meant to be upset about watching these people die because we are too focused on making sure that the rest of them get down the mountain safely and alive. But don't feel like the film just glosses over their deaths, because there is a nice tribute to all of the hikers at the end just before the credits.
Overall, this film is a good tribute to those who lost their lives on Mt. Everest that day. This is an exciting and thrilling movie to watch and it will have you biting your nails pretty much the whole way once the hikers leave base camp. I definitely recommend this film.
I give Everest an A-.
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