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VERTICAL LIMIT Send This Review to a Friend
If ever there were a case of overkill, it is present in "Vertical Limit," a mountain climbing rescue tale. There are more moments of peril and crisis than there were in the old cliff-hanging movie serials. The trouble is when there's a new danger every few minutes, the effect is numbing rather than thrilling. Enough already is hardly the reaction sought by director Martin Campbell or screenwriters Robert King and Terry Hayes.
The story soon turns startling with a father, son and daughter dangling on the side of a mountain. Should the son cut his father loose at dad's urging to lighten the weight and save himself and his sister? The event leaves a lasting trauma to be worked out emotionally.
Subsequently, action in the Himalayas involves an expedition to scale the formidable K2, and the story turns into a rescue mission when Annie, the sister, played by Robin Tunney, becomes trapped. The uphill battle goes downhill from there in the corny plot department. Little is believable except for the realism of the action sequences. I won’t delve into further story details. The cast includes Chris O'Donnell as the brother, Bill Paxton, Nicholas Lea, Scott Glenn and Izabella Scorupco.
The filming, with Mt. Cook in New Zealand the substitute location, is certainly skillful. While anyone interested in climbing will find that the film has its visual rewards, it left me not even wanting to climb a flight of stairs. A Columbia Pictures release.
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