Vertical Limit (2000)

Director:

Martin Campbell

Writers (WGA):

Robert King (story)
Robert King (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

8 December 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

Tagline:

This December. Fear will Fall. Courage will Rise.

Plot:

A climber must rescue his sister on top of K2, one of the world's biggest mountains.

Plot Keywords:

Rescue | K2 | Death | Parricide | Urination Scene

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Chris O'Donnell	...	Peter Garrett
Robin Tunney	...	Annie Garrett
Stuart Wilson	...	Royce Garrett
Augie Davis	...	Aziz
Temuera Morrison	...	Major Rasul
Roshan Seth	...	Colonel Amir Salim
Alejandro Valdes-Rochin	...	Sergeant Asim
Nicholas Lea	...	Tom McLaren
Rod Brown	...	Ali Hasan
Scott Glenn	...	Montgomery Wick
Steve Le Marquand	...	Cyril Bench (as Steve le Marquand)
Ben Mendelsohn	...	Malcolm Bench
Izabella Scorupco	...	Monique Aubertine
Bill Paxton	...	Elliot Vaughn
Ed Viesturs	...	Himself

Also Known As:

Vertical Limit (Germany)
Vertical Limit - In größter Gefahr (Germany) (TV title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense life/death situations and brief strong language.

Runtime:

124 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English | Urdu

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Finland:K-12 | Iceland:12 | South Korea:12 | Philippines:PG-13 | Brazil:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Denmark:15 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Hungary:14 | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Singapore:PG | Spain:7 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

K2, Karakoram Mountain Range, Pakistan

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

The actors performed many of their own stunts.

Goofs:

Continuity: The boiling nitroglycerin in the shed, on the floor, around the boot.

Quotes:

Elliot Vaugh: [to Tom McLaren about Annie Garrett's order to dicontinue their climb] I mean, did you really think she was gonna lift up her skirt and pull her panties down? Come on man, don't crap out on me now.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Legend of the Lost Tribe (2002) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Only One Woman

Into Thin Air

In this high-octane action film, three climbers make stupid decisions at 26,000 feet, en route to the summit of K2, the world's second highest mountain. The climber's peril thus necessitates a rescue, which puts additional people on the mountain and at risk of dying. That's it. The story is thus fairly thin, but the filmmakers insert all kinds of natural and human obstacles, conflict, and difficulties to rev up the action and excitement.

The film's CGI creates compelling tension. We have the illusion of vertical scale, or perspective, which translates into a needed sense of vertigo. The sensation that the characters could, at any moment, fall to their deaths is the film's strength.

The mountain scenery is also nice, although it is sometimes wasted, because of the film's fast pace. Cinematography is quite good. And some of the scene transitions make the film flow really well.

Dialogue seems flat to me. Production design and costumes are adequate. Acting is largely irrelevant.

By far, the biggest flaw is the unrealistic amount of action. In the plot, everything that could go wrong does go wrong, from bad weather to avalanches to exploding nitro to human conflict and discord. It's all a bit much. But, that seems to be a problem inherent to outdoor action films. Directors cram in too much chaos.

Another minus is the background music, which is irritatingly nondescript. For a film set mostly in Asia, I could have wished for more indigenous music which, when combined with the majesty of the mountains, could have added emotional depth and a sense of mystery and awe.

"Vertical Limit" does have an emotional spine to its story, but that is secondary to the super action plot. Viewers who expect well thought out characters, meticulous plotting, or a subtle "theme" will need to look elsewhere. This film is strictly for people who like heavy-duty outdoor action.