Wow. This film was gripping. And it was bleak. Another that I caught up with while on a recent flight, Everest entertains.
The film covers the true story (as a dramatization, not as a verified actual account) of the fatal expeditions on Mount Everest in 1996. Yes, fatal. Going in, I knew people would not survive. But it had probably been almost two decades since I heard of these tragedies, so the movie held an underlying suspense for me in that I did not know who would live and who would be left on the mountain.
As someone who enjoys hiking, I’m awed by the resolve of those who are mountain climbers. That, I am not. But even as someone who has zero desire to climb a mountain in snow and ice with fatally limited amounts of oxygen, I could appreciate the zest and drive of those portrayed in the film. And that was well portrayed.
That said, the movie did not seem to do anything otherwise particularly special as a disaster movie. Yes, the setting was beautiful. And the unforgiving nature of the elements was, for the most part, communicated. But having since then seen The Revenant, I think the latter film showed this as if it were in technicolor and Everest was in grainy black and white.
I applauded most the performances Jason Clark, portraying Rob Hall and Emily Watson as the base camp manager. The rest of the big-name cast members, while entertaining, did not seem to either bring as much punch to the performances or perhaps did not have their characters as well developed in the script to work with. (I’m always so disappointed with those who over-twang when playing a Texan.) And I’m not sure if Josh Brolin was just dull–or if the writers intentionally made him unlikeable (as an ass and as rolling that as if that was due to his Texas roots).
Still, the movie held my attention. And it did not drag things out unnecessarily. I appreciated that. It certainly does not offer a reason to me to climb Everest. It does help see the love-affair some have with that sort of adventure/thrill/insanity.
But I’ll stick with hikes that need nothing more than walking poles, thank you very much.