MOVIE OF THE WEEK #1 (9/18/15): EVEREST
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| "Just a little further ... And we finish filming the best ice cold beer ad of all time!" Rob Hall (Jason Clarke) leads a group on an epic expedition up the world's tallest – and most dangerous – mountain in a scene from EVEREST. Credit: © 2015 Universal Pictures. All Rights Reserved. |
KEY CAST MEMBERS: Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin, John Hawkes, Robin Wright, Michael Kelly, Sam Worthington, Keira Knightley, Emily Watson, Naoko Mori, Elizabeth Debicki and Jake Gyllenhaal
WRITER(S): William Nicholson and Simon Beaufov
DIRECTOR(S): Baltasar Kormákur
60 SECOND PLOT SUMMARY (OR AS CLOSE TO THAT TIME AS ONE CAN MAKE IT): Based on true events taking place in May of 1996, Everest stars Jason Clarke as Rob Hill, the leader of the organization Adventure Consultants. Having lead more than a dozen successful expeditions up the world's highest – and arguably, most dangerous – mountain in Mt. Everest, Rob has no reason to believe his next journey won't be anything but successful.
Leaving his fellow climber/pregnant wife and doctor Jan (Keira Knightley) at home, Rob and his team – Guy (Sam Worthington) and base camp operator Helen Wilton (Emily Watson) and Carolina MacKenzie (Elizabeth Debicki) – are ready to take a group of eager hopefuls up the mountain. This includes Texas climbing enthusiast Beck Weathers (Josh Brollin) – but NOT his wife Peach (Robin Wright) – mail carrier Doug Hansen (John Hawkes), Japanese climber Yasuko Namba (Naoko Mori) and Outside magazine journalist Jon Krakauer (Michael Kelly). Originally competing to seee if he could get his team up to Everest's summit first, Rob eventually pairs up with Mountain Madness owner Scott Fischer (Jake Gyllenhaal) to ensure a quicker – and safer – trip. At first, as they make their way up the mountain, all of the training Rob and his team have had from their past success seems like it will lead to yet another successful venture.
Then they are hit by a storm of hurricane like proportions that brings 80 mile per hour winds, -40 degree Fahrenheit and blinding levels of snowfall. And thus begins an epic battle of man vs. nature that will result in life altering – or ending – circumstances that will go down in history.
Leaving his fellow climber/pregnant wife and doctor Jan (Keira Knightley) at home, Rob and his team – Guy (Sam Worthington) and base camp operator Helen Wilton (Emily Watson) and Carolina MacKenzie (Elizabeth Debicki) – are ready to take a group of eager hopefuls up the mountain. This includes Texas climbing enthusiast Beck Weathers (Josh Brollin) – but NOT his wife Peach (Robin Wright) – mail carrier Doug Hansen (John Hawkes), Japanese climber Yasuko Namba (Naoko Mori) and Outside magazine journalist Jon Krakauer (Michael Kelly). Originally competing to seee if he could get his team up to Everest's summit first, Rob eventually pairs up with Mountain Madness owner Scott Fischer (Jake Gyllenhaal) to ensure a quicker – and safer – trip. At first, as they make their way up the mountain, all of the training Rob and his team have had from their past success seems like it will lead to yet another successful venture.
Then they are hit by a storm of hurricane like proportions that brings 80 mile per hour winds, -40 degree Fahrenheit and blinding levels of snowfall. And thus begins an epic battle of man vs. nature that will result in life altering – or ending – circumstances that will go down in history.
WHO WILL LIKE THIS FILM THE MOST? People fascinated by stories of survival and man vs. nature; fans of human tragedy dramas based on true events
WHO WON’T (OR SHOULDN'T) LIKE THIS MOVIE? Anyone who ever thought about climbing Mt. Everest; people who hate movies that while more-or-less accurate follow common movie tropes and is delivered in heavy-handed fashion
SO, IS IT GOOD, BAD OR ABSOLUTELY AWFUL? A movie that is visually compelling and strives to honor the lives of those who perished, Everest strives to live up to the mountainous challenge that lies ahead of it ... Which is why it's a shame that it falls short of doing so.
Ever seen a movie that you know is not bad but it just fails to grip and grab hold of you despite having the potential to do so? If not, you will after you see director Baltasar Kormákur's Everest, for the film feels predictable even if you are completely unfamiliar with the actual events its based on. Whereas you can tell some of the actors are trying their best – Clarke delivers perhaps what is the finest performance of his career to date and Watson is quite compelling – it feels like Gyllenhaal and Brolin are on "Cool, bro" and "I'm from Texas" auto pilot. Likewise, the movie is an exercise in foreshadowing 101 as just about any element of heightened drama is eliminated as you can tell EXACTLY what's going to happen a good 4-5 scenes before it becomes reality. Inherently, watching people battle the elements and fight to stay alive will provide some tension for the viewer, but Everest fails to do anything to hook you other than basically letting you know these people are screwed, this mountain is unrelenting and it's a really bad idea to try to climb it in regular weather, let alone inclement conditions.
Other than that, I'm not certain what one will want to know about Everest as the film is likely to elicit the same "Yeah, that was terrible" response; whether or not you say it about the tragedy or the film, however, remains to be seen. This is not to make light of the people who lost their lives at all. It's just simply to say that Everest feels the exact opposite of the situation the climbers in it experienced: Predictable, slow, off pace and a journey that you won't remember too long once you leave the theater.
Ever seen a movie that you know is not bad but it just fails to grip and grab hold of you despite having the potential to do so? If not, you will after you see director Baltasar Kormákur's Everest, for the film feels predictable even if you are completely unfamiliar with the actual events its based on. Whereas you can tell some of the actors are trying their best – Clarke delivers perhaps what is the finest performance of his career to date and Watson is quite compelling – it feels like Gyllenhaal and Brolin are on "Cool, bro" and "I'm from Texas" auto pilot. Likewise, the movie is an exercise in foreshadowing 101 as just about any element of heightened drama is eliminated as you can tell EXACTLY what's going to happen a good 4-5 scenes before it becomes reality. Inherently, watching people battle the elements and fight to stay alive will provide some tension for the viewer, but Everest fails to do anything to hook you other than basically letting you know these people are screwed, this mountain is unrelenting and it's a really bad idea to try to climb it in regular weather, let alone inclement conditions.
Other than that, I'm not certain what one will want to know about Everest as the film is likely to elicit the same "Yeah, that was terrible" response; whether or not you say it about the tragedy or the film, however, remains to be seen. This is not to make light of the people who lost their lives at all. It's just simply to say that Everest feels the exact opposite of the situation the climbers in it experienced: Predictable, slow, off pace and a journey that you won't remember too long once you leave the theater.
OVERALL RATING (OUT OF FOUR POSSIBLE BUCKETS OF POPCORN):
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