By Warren Gordon
Reaching the summit of Mt. Everest is an amazing accomplishment, however making it back down is a little more difficult. “Everest”, directed by Baltasar Kormakur, brings the real life disaster of 1996 to the big screen as a heartwarming, heroic film. The film contains an intriguing plot and script coupled with a very talented cast.
Based on a true story, “Everest” follows Rob Hall (Jason Clarke) and his crew, as well as daring adventurists, Beck Weathers (Josh Brolin), Jon Krakauer (Michael Kelly), and Scott Fischer (Jake Gyllenhaal), as they scale the face of Mt. Everest.
Jason takes his team and all of his climbers up to the base camp on the mountain. As the date to climb to the top slowly approaches, the adventurists start to prepare for the harsh climate and thin air at the summit. After they successfully make it to the top, they get caught in a storm and find themselves fighting to stay alive.
Stars Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin, Keira Knightly and Jake Gyllenhaal highlight this film by bringing each of the real characters to life with depth and realism. These actors hook the audience by realistically depicting the pain and agony all of the climbers had to face in order to achieve their goals and survive..
Everest’s breathtaking plot leaves both the characters and the audience gasping for air. As sad as the event was, this film twists it to highlight the climbers heroism. For example, the film has a big emphasis on the courageous climbers and pilots who were daring to go up to an altitude with harsh conditions where most people can die. This helped the audience realize how brave these people were because they wanted to save people they didn’t even know.
The production of this movie took filmmakers to the Italian Alps, refrigerated backlot studios, and Everest itself. In order to capture the real atmosphere, this movie has to be filmed in freezing conditions. Since it is filmed in a real climate, it helps the cast give off real emotions, and contributes to the audience’s understanding, as well as hooks them to the film.
The script of the film helps bring the climb to life. By showing the climbers contacting family in fatal situations along with the connection that each character had with one another makes it more relatable for the audience. For example, the film has a scene when Rob contacts his pregnant wife, while on the verge of death. That conversation caused the audience to feel the pain that the climbers family went through, and giving the film a realistic, relatable feeling.
Overall, Kormakur turns a gruesome event into a stunning film. “Everest” will send a chill up your spine, a tear down your cheek, and will have most of the audience running home to safety.
The film can be viewed in Imax 3D or in 2D. The film is rated PG-13 and is playing in theaters nationwide.
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