Everest- Movie Review

Rating: C+ 

This past Tuesday, I finally had the chance to Everest. Since the first trailer, this movie was highly anticipated for me. The cast was awesome and the plot seemed even greater. Not knowing much about this story, I went into this film with a totally open mind. And I was absolutely awe-inspired.

I implore you to check out this film in IMAX. The spectacle of climbing the infamous Mt. Everest was fully captured by the IMAX cameras. This film was meant to be seen in a grand and epic setting and IMAX perfectly presented that. You honestly feel as if you're with the crew and the sights are amazing. The scenes on the mountain are just jaw dropping. On of my favorites is a certain helicopter scene where you see the depths of all the canyons. It's simply beautiful. The grandeur and colossal feel of this journey is so well done. I'm usually not a big IMAX guy. I'll openly admit it makes me dizzy from time to time. Yet, Everest in IMAX was a great experience.

A huge thing I liked about this film was the cast managed to steal the show. You would think with an epic about climbing a mountain, the mountain would be the best part. Yet, the cast proved that theory wrong. Everybody was great in this movie. Jason Clarke was the perfect leading man in Everest. His performance was genuine and extremely heartfelt. You believed he was a leader and he was insanely likable. Jake Gyllenhaal was also awesome. He brought a lighter side to an ultimate tragic event. He also displayed fatigue and the torture of climbing this mountain extremely well. Yet Josh Brolin, in my opinion, stole the show. Brolin was just great in Everest. You felt his inner battle and rooted for him the entire film. Something Everest did wonderfully was show the insane conditions an expedition of Everest would present. They didn't sugar coat things. You saw death, frostbite, deliriousness, and fatigue up close. The actors did a spectacular job at presenting these extreme medical conditions. Everybody did a wonderful job.

Yet, Everest did have issues. I felt the writing was really poor. Although the acting was great, the lines were sometimes just super cheesy. This film also drags out a lot. It's almost a three hour film from start to finish. Yes, they did capture a lot but some stuff just wasn't necessary. I also felt it lacked emotional depth. At points when the audience was suppose to feel gut wrenching sorrow, the film didn't really present that. I wasn't really emotionally targeted by Everest. It lacked the emotional depth a movie this tragic should have.

I would still recommend seeing this film. The mere spectacle of it is breathtaking and the performances are awesome.