Everest - directed by Baltasar Kormakur
Starring: Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin, Keira Knightley, John Hawkes, Sam Worhthington, Jake Gyllenhaal, Elizabeth Debicki, Robin Wright, Emily Watson, Martin Henderson, Michael Kelly
Running Time: 121 minutes
Rated: M - some realistic wounds
As a Kiwi this movie has special interest to me.
Rob Hall being a Kiwi of course but also the fascination to see how good a New Zealand accent Aussie actor Jason Clarke can pull off playing him.
Oh, and Keira Knightley.
I freaking love Keira Knightley.
Apart from these very, very valid reasons (to me) the cast in this movie is pretty impressive.
Obviously Josh Brolin, Jake Gyllenhaal and Robin Wright but the great character actor one, two, three punch of Michael Kelly ("The Adjustment Bureau", "House of Cards"), John Hawkes ("From Dusk To Dawn", "The Sessions") and Emily Watson "Breaking the Waves", "Red Dragon")
So, good story, great cast and the chance for a truly compelling 3D experience then.
If you can't utilise 3D to great effect in making a movie about the highest mountain in the world in the middle of a violent snow storm I should think you ought to have a good long, hard look at yourself as a filmmaker.
The filmmaker in question here is Icelandic director Baltasar Kormakur.
I enjoyed his "2 Guns" quite a lot but "Contraband" not so much.
Other than that I have not seen any of his other work.
With "Everest" he has a pretty daunting task in telling what is a pretty simple story.
A bunch of people go up a mountain and not all of them come down.
I try to stay away from spoilers on this blog but with this film it is impossible to do so totally but I will try.
Based on true events there is the strong possibility that you will know at least some of what transpires in this film.
New Zealand mountaineer Rob Hall lead the 1996 expedition that history now knows as the 1996 Everest Disaster.
A number of factors including congestion on the mountain and a severe storm lead to several deaths.
Tough to make a suspenseful drama when the bulk of your audience is likely to know much of what is about to happen.
For the most part Kormakur succeeds.
The first hour is a very interesting build up showing some spectacular scenery and introducing some interesting characters as the party members arrive in Nepal and begin the trek towards the mountain.
3D is used very well not only to show some pretty hairy crevices, rickety bridges and drops but on a couple of occasions to toss rocks, ice and the occasional human at the screen.
Shot in Italy, Iceland, Pinewood Studios and Nepal it's a generally superb looking film.
The cast performs every bit as well as you would expect such a great line up to.
John Hawkes has little to do beyond looking tired and near death for much of it and Josh Brolin effectively vanishes for much of it but Emily Watson, Keira Knightley, Elizabeth Debicki, Sam Worthington and lead Jason Clarke are very, very good.
Your enjoyment is likely to depend greatly on how much the subject matter is of interest to you.
For me it is the local connection that appealed most of all and whilst some of the attempts at a Kiwi accent are patchy (Watson tries hard but overdoes it) Knightley and Clarke are bang on.
They do a great job with some tough scenes made tougher by virtue of them being over phone lines.
Much of what occurs will of course be speculative but what is shown is remarkably close to what is known.
Being based on the book of one of the men on the expedition obviously helps but this much credit should go to screenwriters Simon Beaufoy and Mark Medoff.
Beaufoy has an interesting resume featuring the diverse nuggets "The Full Monty", "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire", "Slumdog Millionaire" and "127 Hours".
With "Everest" sharing some of the themes of the latter and his work generally it is not hard to see why he was chosen.
"Everest" is an unremarkable movie about a remarkable event.
There is nothing flashy about it - it mostly lets the scenery and the events speak for themselves.
It doesn't over dramatise or apply liberal doses of saccharin and it is right not to.
There is enough impact in this story that letting the cast do their thing turns out to be enough.
Kormakur is clearly technically proficient enough to pull off a convincing movie about such a daunting, impressive mountain but I can't help but wonder what someone like Danny Boyle or David Fincher cold have done with this one.
Still- I enjoyed this film even though I knew most of what was coming.
Clarke is the star and Knightley shows yet again that she can do wonders with just minutes of screen time.
RATING: 71/ 100
CONCLUSION: Great scenery and a superb cast can't entirely overcome a bland narrative but "Everest" is still often exciting and occasionally moving. Solid.
Running Time: 121 minutes
Rated: M - some realistic wounds
As a Kiwi this movie has special interest to me.
Rob Hall being a Kiwi of course but also the fascination to see how good a New Zealand accent Aussie actor Jason Clarke can pull off playing him.
Oh, and Keira Knightley.
I freaking love Keira Knightley.
Apart from these very, very valid reasons (to me) the cast in this movie is pretty impressive.
Obviously Josh Brolin, Jake Gyllenhaal and Robin Wright but the great character actor one, two, three punch of Michael Kelly ("The Adjustment Bureau", "House of Cards"), John Hawkes ("From Dusk To Dawn", "The Sessions") and Emily Watson "Breaking the Waves", "Red Dragon")
So, good story, great cast and the chance for a truly compelling 3D experience then.
If you can't utilise 3D to great effect in making a movie about the highest mountain in the world in the middle of a violent snow storm I should think you ought to have a good long, hard look at yourself as a filmmaker.
The filmmaker in question here is Icelandic director Baltasar Kormakur.
I enjoyed his "2 Guns" quite a lot but "Contraband" not so much.
Other than that I have not seen any of his other work.
With "Everest" he has a pretty daunting task in telling what is a pretty simple story.
A bunch of people go up a mountain and not all of them come down.
I try to stay away from spoilers on this blog but with this film it is impossible to do so totally but I will try.
Based on true events there is the strong possibility that you will know at least some of what transpires in this film.
New Zealand mountaineer Rob Hall lead the 1996 expedition that history now knows as the 1996 Everest Disaster.
A number of factors including congestion on the mountain and a severe storm lead to several deaths.
Tough to make a suspenseful drama when the bulk of your audience is likely to know much of what is about to happen.
For the most part Kormakur succeeds.
The first hour is a very interesting build up showing some spectacular scenery and introducing some interesting characters as the party members arrive in Nepal and begin the trek towards the mountain.
3D is used very well not only to show some pretty hairy crevices, rickety bridges and drops but on a couple of occasions to toss rocks, ice and the occasional human at the screen.
Shot in Italy, Iceland, Pinewood Studios and Nepal it's a generally superb looking film.
The cast performs every bit as well as you would expect such a great line up to.
John Hawkes has little to do beyond looking tired and near death for much of it and Josh Brolin effectively vanishes for much of it but Emily Watson, Keira Knightley, Elizabeth Debicki, Sam Worthington and lead Jason Clarke are very, very good.
Your enjoyment is likely to depend greatly on how much the subject matter is of interest to you.
For me it is the local connection that appealed most of all and whilst some of the attempts at a Kiwi accent are patchy (Watson tries hard but overdoes it) Knightley and Clarke are bang on.
They do a great job with some tough scenes made tougher by virtue of them being over phone lines.
Much of what occurs will of course be speculative but what is shown is remarkably close to what is known.
Being based on the book of one of the men on the expedition obviously helps but this much credit should go to screenwriters Simon Beaufoy and Mark Medoff.
Beaufoy has an interesting resume featuring the diverse nuggets "The Full Monty", "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire", "Slumdog Millionaire" and "127 Hours".
With "Everest" sharing some of the themes of the latter and his work generally it is not hard to see why he was chosen.
"Everest" is an unremarkable movie about a remarkable event.
There is nothing flashy about it - it mostly lets the scenery and the events speak for themselves.
It doesn't over dramatise or apply liberal doses of saccharin and it is right not to.
There is enough impact in this story that letting the cast do their thing turns out to be enough.
Kormakur is clearly technically proficient enough to pull off a convincing movie about such a daunting, impressive mountain but I can't help but wonder what someone like Danny Boyle or David Fincher cold have done with this one.
Still- I enjoyed this film even though I knew most of what was coming.
Clarke is the star and Knightley shows yet again that she can do wonders with just minutes of screen time.
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