Drama. Suspense. Frostbite. The best word to describe Everest, the new film directed by Baltasar Kormákur, is ‘solid.’ The film recounts the true events of May 10, 1996 when a team of amateur mountain climbers attempting to summit Mt. Everest were hit by a sudden wind storm. Smartly and diligently written, the movie follows three different teams in the months leading up to the final expedition. Tasked with addressing a large cast of characters, the film manages to juggle five or more leads with efficiency and tact.
It’s always hard to criticize a true story, but as a film, Everest is very predictable even without prior knowledge of the story. It’s a cliche done right, though, and is paced very well. It clips through an extended training period never feeling too rushed or too drawn out while essentially giving the viewer a crash course in the dangers of climbing Mt. Everest. You know that disaster is coming by the time it gets there, but the movie never feels obnoxious, and the events of the summit day trudge slowly and subtly towards disaster. It’s a two hour movie, but it feels like it’s 90 minutes.
Everest certainly looks great too. See it in IMAX if at all possible. Whatever team did the effects for this movie should be applauded. The mountain is beautiful and real, and is showcased repeatedly in wide, swooping shots. But it’s not for the faint of heart: at least in IMAX, looking off the edge is enough to make you queasy.
The movie is essentially an ensemble cast (though mainly focusing on Rob Hall – played by Jason Clarke – the leader of the team), and is full of all-stars – Clarke, Keira Knightly, and Josh Brolin stand out, but Jake Gyllenhaal and Robin Wright are thrown in as well, and it’s hard to ever call them wasted.
The rotten egg from a performance standpoint is Sam Worthington, who plays a friendly rival of Hall’s – Guy Cotter. The gap between him and the rest of the cast becomes apparent as the movie rises in emotional intensity. In one of the movie’s smartest scenes, the base camp has a direct radio line with Rob Hall, who is stranded on top of the mountain, running out of oxygen, and freezing to death. Worthington’s unchanging expression distracts from the power of the scene. Emily Watson, Elizabeth Debicki, and Keira Knightly, on the other hand, crush it, not to mention Clarke himself, who manages to deliver fantastic emotion with his voice alone.
So, go see Everest this weekend if you’ve got the time. It’s not going to change your life, but it’s a fun time at the theater. Four out of five stars.