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| Vertical Limit |
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  (8/10)
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Runtime: 124 |
| Public Rating: 5.00 (5 votes) |
Director: Martin Campbell |
MPAA Rating:  |
| Genre: Action / Thriller |
Year: 2000 |
| Writer(s): Robert King |
| Distributor: 1 |
| Reviewed by: Dan Smith |
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After I watched this movie, all I wanted to say was “WOW!!!” But since that would make a very boring review, I decided to wait for my heart to stop racing and do it justice. I have read other reviews in which they use the phrase “edge of your seat” and I always thought it was really cliché. After watching this movie, I can see why that term might apply, especially to a film like this one!
Unless I am on an airplane, (window seat please!!) I suffer from acrophobia. Heights really panic me, so I have to admit, I only rented this movie because pickings were slim at the local video store! I brought it home, put it in the VCR, and from the opening scene, I was immediately taken away.
The film is about Peter (Chris O’Donnell; Cookie’s Fortune, Batman And Robin) and Annie Garret (Robin Tunney; End Of Days, Encino Man) a brother and sister who lose their father (Stuart Wilson; The Rock, Lethal Weapon 3) due to a climbing accident in Utah. That is not a spoiler. The accident happens in the first five minutes of the film, and from there, I could not take my eyes away.
We conclude from the opening that climbing has always been a family passion and that Peter and Annie are extremely close as siblings go. As the film progresses, we learn that Peter has forsaken this passion out of guilt, while Annie has gone on to pursue a career in journalism. When airline mogul Elliot Vaughn (Bill Paxton; U571, Mighty Joe Young) hires mountaineering expert Tom McLaren (Nicholas Lea; Bad Company) to conquer the second highest mountain in the world, K12, WNN sends their most able and attractive reporter to cover the story That reporter is Annie Garret.
More misfortune befalls Annie and the rest of the expeditionary team when they become trapped in an ice cave at 26,000 feet in altitude and they must depend on available medical supplies and each other to survive. Peter, who is at the base camp, is compelled to assemble a rescue team to save his sister and redeem himself in her eyes for the death of their father.
I don’t want to spoil this film by giving too many details, but I have to say that this is one THE finest men-against-nature films I have ever seen. To compare, A Perfect Storm is a perfect waste of time in this genre, as it focused too much on George Clooney and emphasizing his “pretty boy” persona that is totally out of place in an environment where cool thinking and the will to survive is required. This film instills a real sense of foreboding, and emphasizes man’s inequity against nature.
This movie not only has excellent acting and a believable story, it also features excellent cinematography with breath-taking scenes filmed both on the ground and from the air. If suspense is your cup of tea, then brew up a pot of Vertical Limit as soon as you can.
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