Review of Everest (2015) by Thequietgamer — 09 Apr 2018

Might I recommend watching this movie during cold weather? The cinematography is already excellent enough to sell the feeling of being on the mountain with them, but having a little chill in the air will bolster the experience. Based on the 1996 Mount Everest disaster, this is a great depiction of the struggles and dangers that will come with trying to ascend the world's highest mountain. The visuals will take your breath away just as effectively as the altitude. The only difference being you won't have to worry about your health in the process. The sheer spectacle adds a sense of believability that allows the films to have moments both harrowing and brutal. It's just unfortunate that I found myself unable to really care about the people struggling to survive.

There's a star-studded cast here with the likes of Josh Brolin, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Kiera Knightley giving it their all. The amount of talent on display is impressive. Their characters aren't much to speak of though. I felt the movie tried too hard to portray everyone as good for goodness' sake everymen so that we might care when one of them dies. The predictability of it all prevents that from happening. So there's no sense of heartache occurring when one of the people suffer for trying to do something amazing by going where few others ever have gone before. Especially since their suffering doesn't seem undeserved. A handful of those who didn't make it came off as dumb people making dumber decisions. As if tempting fate to have the storm freeze them to death.

Everest is unable to ascend to any new heights when it comes to plotting and characterization. As a result it's robbed of any sort of emotional impact. This leads to moments that are supposed to be heart wrenching (of which there are many) being boring instead. It gets points for it's spectacle and performances. Plus the fact that it's based on a true story may make it more powerful for some. Ultimately though I found it to be lacking in believable humanity thanks to how forced, predictable, and phoned in the character moments were. As if the director went through a list of "Based on a True Story" plot devices and decided to throw them all in. I was actually rooting for the mountain. That really shouldn't have been the case. But my what a mountain she is. Beautiful and very deadly. Two aspects this film captures very well.