The writers must have been at altitude when they put this one in their laptops, because the writing was just a little too canned and the characters just a little too dingy to be in a dramatic action flick. The telegraphed delivery of the deaths of "expendible" characters was so over-used that it was difficult to connect with any character at all. Even the plot device of orphaning the two main characters fails to build enough of a sympathy bond. Heck, it works for Disney, so you can't blame them for trying.
I have climbed long class III's (difficult, but no ropes required) and I was suckered in by the stunts in the previews. Given my exposure to the sport, the technical gaffes and medical screw-ups were distracting enough to overcome any lasting impact of the stunts. For example, not everyone reacts to altitude the exact same way, even well below the altitude of K2.
Bill Paxton plays an eeeevil villain and Scott Glenn plays (what else?) a grizzled old man who knows everything. The rest of the characters just don't make the leap from the screen to the audience. Aside from a few great one-liners (all seen in memorable quotes--at left) and some fantastic stunts, this movie is missable. Maybe we should cut the rope again, just to be sure.
I have climbed long class III's (difficult, but no ropes required) and I was suckered in by the stunts in the previews. Given my exposure to the sport, the technical gaffes and medical screw-ups were distracting enough to overcome any lasting impact of the stunts. For example, not everyone reacts to altitude the exact same way, even well below the altitude of K2.
Bill Paxton plays an eeeevil villain and Scott Glenn plays (what else?) a grizzled old man who knows everything. The rest of the characters just don't make the leap from the screen to the audience. Aside from a few great one-liners (all seen in memorable quotes--at left) and some fantastic stunts, this movie is missable. Maybe we should cut the rope again, just to be sure.