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IMDbPro

Vertical Limit

  • 20002000
  • PG-13PG-13
  • 2h 4m
IMDb RATING
5.9/10
63K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,283
2,944
Promo poster
ActionAdventureDrama
A climber must rescue his sister on top of K2, one of the world's biggest mountains.A climber must rescue his sister on top of K2, one of the world's biggest mountains.A climber must rescue his sister on top of K2, one of the world's biggest mountains.
IMDb RATING
5.9/10
63K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,283
2,944
    • Martin Campbell
    • Robert King(story)
    • Terry Hayes(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Scott Glenn
    • Chris O'Donnell
    • Bill Paxton
    • Martin Campbell
    • Robert King(story)
    • Terry Hayes(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Scott Glenn
    • Chris O'Donnell
    • Bill Paxton
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 410User reviews
    • 100Critic reviews
    • 48Metascore
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award

    Photos76

    Chris O'Donnell stars as Peter
    Robin Tunney stars as Annie
    Scott Glenn stars as Montgomery Wick
    Isabella Scorupco stars as Monique
    Bill Paxton stars as Elliott Vaughn, a wealthy entrepreneur whose ill-fated climb up K2 prompts a rescue mission.
    Nicholas Lea plays Tom McLaren, leader of Vaughn's expedition.
    Monique and Peter
    (top to bottom) Peter, Annie, Wick and Vaughn
    Isabella Scorupco stars as Monique
    Peter tries to make a dangerous dismount from Major Rasul's helicopter
    Isabella Scorupco stars as Monique
    Vaughn, Wick, Monique, Peter and Annie

    Top cast

    Edit
    Scott Glenn
    Scott Glenn
    • Montgomery Wick
    Chris O'Donnell
    Chris O'Donnell
    • Peter Garrett
    Bill Paxton
    Bill Paxton
    • Elliot Vaughn
    Robin Tunney
    Robin Tunney
    • Annie Garrett
    Stuart Wilson
    Stuart Wilson
    • Royce Garrett
    Augie Davis
    Augie Davis
    • Aziz
    Temuera Morrison
    Temuera Morrison
    • Major Rasul
    Roshan Seth
    Roshan Seth
    • Colonel Amir Salim
    Alejandro Valdes-Rochin
    • Sergeant Asim
    Nicholas Lea
    Nicholas Lea
    • Tom McLaren
    Rod Brown
    • Ali Hasan
    Steve Le Marquand
    Steve Le Marquand
    • Cyril Bench
    Ben Mendelsohn
    Ben Mendelsohn
    • Malcolm Bench
    Izabella Scorupco
    Izabella Scorupco
    • Monique Aubertine
    Ed Viesturs
    • Self
    Robert Taylor
    Robert Taylor
    • Skip Taylor
    Alexander Siddig
    Alexander Siddig
    • Kareem Nazir
    Clinton Beavan
    • WNN Cameraman
      • Martin Campbell
      • Robert King(story) (screenplay)
      • Terry Hayes(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The well-known climber Ed Viesturs plays himself in the movie. He also worked as a trainer for the actors.
    • Goofs
      The depiction of High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE) is grossly inaccurate. HAPE is usually a result of altitude sickness and can most commonly be prevented (or at least have a measure of prevention provided) by slow acclimatization to the higher altitude. It is not a guaranteed condition to every climber at a high altitude. Moreover, the consumption of water has little bearing on the onset of HAPE. Additionally, given Annie's and Tom's high-degree of experience, and previous statements regarding their proposed high level of safety, they would most certainly have insisted on climbing K2 with the aid of oxygen, the use of which also staves off HAPE.
    • Quotes

      Skip: Don't mind her. She's French-Canadian. Some days she's Canadian. Can be quite pleasant. Today she's obviously French.

    • Connections
      Edited into Killer Mountain (2011)
    • Soundtracks
      Take It to the Limit
      Written by Don Henley, Glenn Frey and Randy Meisner

    User reviews410

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    Strong Story, No Need For Bombs
    I enjoyed Vertical Limit. One thing I would have done differently, as a director, is to eliminate the explosives. Blowing a hole at the top of the crevass that your friends and family are at the bottom of is folly, and even if you do feel the need to bring explosives (in avalanche country), use something relatively stable, like dynamite.

    Dynamite would have been readily available, for it is used to mine Himalayan salt in Pakistan. Certainly, the man with the millions of dollars could have afforded some. The exclusion of explosives from the scenes would have contributed to a more believable Himalayan adventure (think Into Thin Air).

    The story line was good, and I appreciated the strong, complex dynamics and connections between the brother and sister, and between the two siblings and the rescue team leader. While Vertical Limit strove to expose the harsh realities of technical climbing (especially at K2), however, it lost some steam by being very lax in re-creating the conditions that would have been met by the climbers, even at K2's Base Camp at 18,645 feet.

    No one was even wearing hats at the alcohol-ridden "barbecue" at Base Camp, the night before the climb. It would have been blisteringly cold, between -20 and -50 farenheit. No professional climber would have been drinking alcohol at that time.

    On the mountain, in the raging storm, the climbers did not even have the sense to pull the Cord-Locs on their hoods tight: Snow would have accumulated inside their hoods and parkas, then melting. There were some scenes when protective face masks were used, and that was excellent.

    Chris O'Donnell's character makes a terrific leap onto a snowy cliff face. I am not entirely certain that the jump would have been possible in real-life, but just maybe. They should have made the jump less-ambitious and more believeable.

    Although I am glad that there were not one but two women in the rescue team, in reality, they would have not been allowed: Women just don't have the brute force necessary to haul 200-pound guys down the mountain (or up on a rope).

    While I am tempted to say that it is unrealistic that the veteran and renowned ascent team leader and National Geographic photographer (also a highly-experienced climber) could be cajoled into continuing the ascent after the severe storm warning had been issued to them, we have seen bad decisions in the past by real-life alpine team leaders,culminating to disaster.

    Although it may seem that I am being very critical of Vertical Limit, my score of 8 shows that I am willing to forgive the sins that Hollywood felt compelled to commit. The strong inter-personal dynamics, memorable characters, strong story line in-general, and clear, bold decision making in the screenplay made this film worth watching. Heroism is always a welcome theme in the movies I watch, and in Vertical Limit, everyone's a hero in his or her own way.

    Scott Glen's character as the rescue team leader and sage mountaineer was superb.
    helpful•15
    1
    • Snowgo
    • Nov 6, 2015

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 8, 2000 (United States)
      • United States
      • Germany
      • Filmymen
      • English
      • Urdu
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • K2, Karakoram Mountain Range, Pakistan
    • Production companies
      • Columbia Pictures
      • Global Entertainment Productions GmbH & Company Medien KG
      • Mountain High Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 2 hours 4 minutes
      • Color
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital
      • SDDS

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