It has truly stunning scenery. It isn't a climbing guide and it's not meant to be. I really don't know what people want from a film these days. Reality TV seems to have rotted people's brains. This is FICTION. Enjoy it on it's own escapist level, or don't watch it. In fiction you can take certain liberties. That is why it's fiction. Taking up a sport as physically demanding as climbing because you saw a movie once is ridiculous.
What's good: Chris O'Donnell is a solid choice for leading man, and Robin Tunney doesn't disgrace herself as the single-minded sister. Scott Glenn is the standout as the reclusive loner, but he doesn't really have enough screen time. It was also frankly a relief to see the Pakistani characters, although minor, treated with some respect, making them reasonable, reasoning men.
The problems: Far too many crises. Avalanches, explosions, the helicopter nearly cutting someone to ribbons, the list never ends, and as characters just keep dying you start to feel as though the punchline is just going to be more death and destruction. Which is a little wearisome. The script is also somewhat clichéd. It's worth watching once, but this is certainly a movie I wouldn't go back to. Many of the minor characters are just there to die, so they are not especially well-fleshed out. The central 'villain' played by Bill Paxton is a pale shadow of what a villain should be. Contrast Michael Moriarty in Cliffhanger, but since the real 'villain' is meant to be the mountain, Paxton's character is not given enough substance to be more than a one note performance.
All round, the film scores on beautiful scenery, but crucially falls down on the overloaded plot.
What's good: Chris O'Donnell is a solid choice for leading man, and Robin Tunney doesn't disgrace herself as the single-minded sister. Scott Glenn is the standout as the reclusive loner, but he doesn't really have enough screen time. It was also frankly a relief to see the Pakistani characters, although minor, treated with some respect, making them reasonable, reasoning men.
The problems: Far too many crises. Avalanches, explosions, the helicopter nearly cutting someone to ribbons, the list never ends, and as characters just keep dying you start to feel as though the punchline is just going to be more death and destruction. Which is a little wearisome. The script is also somewhat clichéd. It's worth watching once, but this is certainly a movie I wouldn't go back to. Many of the minor characters are just there to die, so they are not especially well-fleshed out. The central 'villain' played by Bill Paxton is a pale shadow of what a villain should be. Contrast Michael Moriarty in Cliffhanger, but since the real 'villain' is meant to be the mountain, Paxton's character is not given enough substance to be more than a one note performance.
All round, the film scores on beautiful scenery, but crucially falls down on the overloaded plot.