A stunning, moving dramatization of the 1996 Mount Everest disaster, drawn from the accounts of several survivors. This incident actually involves author Jon Krakauer, who documented his own experience in the '97 page-turner Into Thin Air, though some disputes have been raised against his work and it's not cited as a reference for the film.
As one might expect, there's no shortage of breathtaking scenery and bowel-shaking peeks down into the gaping abyss, and those are clearly a high priority for the production. They're a grand mix of CGI and on-location footage, real IMAX-quality eye candy that should scratch a giant itch for lovers of the outdoors or fans of air-sucking Earth porn.
The film's dramatic turns, surprisingly enough, are just as effective. Though it's overloaded with big names, from Josh Brolin and Jake Gyllenhaal to Keira Knightly and Robin Wright, each effectively fades into a more pedestrian role and none, save a few appropriately loud-mouthed scenes from Brolin, threaten to take the production over.
Though the passage of time is occasionally a bit underplayed, especially as the climbers acclimate to altitude, it works very well as both a pulse-pounder and a gut-punch. Powerful and arresting, it reaches brazenly for the heavens without losing track of its human origins, which is far easier said than done.
Review by HSBlockedParent2024-02-28T01:26:50Z
‘Everest’ is based on a true story of the 1996 catastrophe at Mount Everest when a major storm struck a climbing expedition on May 10, 1996. The film clings close to the facts, including climber names, events, and even the radio broadcasts being almost verbatim as recorded. The filmmakers also filmed much of it on location at Everest, excluding the scenes at the upper high-altitude camps/Summit and base camp. A team of mountaineers spends $65,000 each for a private expedition group led by Rob Hall, played by Jason Clarke, and his team to reach the summit. The team sets off without knowing that a massive blizzard, one of the worst to strike Everest, is headed their way. Hall’s team and another team led by Scott Fischer, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, link up at Camp 2 to help each other during the climb to the summit. The teams must fight through the storm while low on oxygen and brutal conditions at over 25,000 feet altitude. The health of several mountaineers also deteriorates, and it becomes a test against time.
The filming and cinematography are amazing. The casting across the board is very well done. ‘Everest’ always keeps you on your toes with no-nonsense plots. The challenges that climbers face are apparent and require no sensationalism. It’s a flat-out biopic.
An interesting (but sad) fact is that until this film was made, the 1996 catastrophe held the record as the worst in the history of Everest. While this film was being made at Everest in 2014, an even bigger catastrophe took place, which resulted in the deaths of 16 Sherpa guides. While the film crew wasn’t involved in that avalanche, the filming had to be stopped and postponed. Rob Hall had climbed the Everest summit a record 5 times, and his wife Jan also did once. The rescue of a survivor was also the highest-altitude flight ever in a helicopter. What is not shown is the helicopter returned a second time on the same day to rescue another survivor.
Would I recommend this? Yes. The things people do to test their limits are truly something. Fighting through such brutal conditions takes courage, will, and determination.