All this talk lately of screenwriting software and the suggestion that some scripts look like they have been generated from within one of these programs rather than out of the imagination of a writer certainly shows up in this by the numbers action flick.
The story revolves around climbing, you can't escape that and initially that may have looked like a great idea for a movie. And it is to a certain degree. It is unfortunate though that 'Cliffhanger' made a better hash of it than this one did.
Brother and sister (Chris O'Donnell and Robin Tunney) are both climbers who haven't spoken to each other for three years after the death of their father in an horrific climbing accident - she blames him for his death. She becomes a reporter for a news service - one that is covering the ascent of K2 by flamboyant billionaire (Bill Paxton). He wants to be at the top of K2 in time to wave at the inaugral flight of his airline. Great publicity, wrapped up in a great adventure.
So after the team heads up the mountain and gets into a spot of trouble, it is up to O'Donnell to put together a rag tag team of climbers to go and rescue the party - one of whom is his sister.
So the stage is set for a few interesting climbing set pieces - some of which are genuinely exciting. Some fall very flat (O'Donnell jumping the chasm to the opposite cliff face is not set up at all - and is cut away from and forgotten as soon as he hits the other side - very strange indeed), while some are very nail biting indeed.
Mention must be made of a duo of aussie actors who provide a lot of the comic relief - Ben Mendelsohn and Steve Le Marquand - they are very funny as the brotherly team who only seem to be at K2 for the weather.
What really irked me about this film was the utter predictability of it. Many early comments I was sure where to have their payoff later in the film, and I was not disappointed. The initial accident that took the life of the father was later repeated nearly shot for shot; the grizzled old climber who lost his wife on the peak and spent the next 10 years looking for her body is resolved in a probably unintentionally comic way. And of course the foolhardly billionaire who just doesn't listen to anyone.
Chris O'Donnell again puts in another near cardboard performance; whoever in Hollywood thinks this guy can act should be given a further reality check with this film.
What saves this film from being a total wipeout is the beforementioned action sequences which do provide some interesting tension to the proceedings.
If just a little more thought had gone into the script this might have been more of a winner.
6 out of 10.
The story revolves around climbing, you can't escape that and initially that may have looked like a great idea for a movie. And it is to a certain degree. It is unfortunate though that 'Cliffhanger' made a better hash of it than this one did.
Brother and sister (Chris O'Donnell and Robin Tunney) are both climbers who haven't spoken to each other for three years after the death of their father in an horrific climbing accident - she blames him for his death. She becomes a reporter for a news service - one that is covering the ascent of K2 by flamboyant billionaire (Bill Paxton). He wants to be at the top of K2 in time to wave at the inaugral flight of his airline. Great publicity, wrapped up in a great adventure.
So after the team heads up the mountain and gets into a spot of trouble, it is up to O'Donnell to put together a rag tag team of climbers to go and rescue the party - one of whom is his sister.
So the stage is set for a few interesting climbing set pieces - some of which are genuinely exciting. Some fall very flat (O'Donnell jumping the chasm to the opposite cliff face is not set up at all - and is cut away from and forgotten as soon as he hits the other side - very strange indeed), while some are very nail biting indeed.
Mention must be made of a duo of aussie actors who provide a lot of the comic relief - Ben Mendelsohn and Steve Le Marquand - they are very funny as the brotherly team who only seem to be at K2 for the weather.
What really irked me about this film was the utter predictability of it. Many early comments I was sure where to have their payoff later in the film, and I was not disappointed. The initial accident that took the life of the father was later repeated nearly shot for shot; the grizzled old climber who lost his wife on the peak and spent the next 10 years looking for her body is resolved in a probably unintentionally comic way. And of course the foolhardly billionaire who just doesn't listen to anyone.
Chris O'Donnell again puts in another near cardboard performance; whoever in Hollywood thinks this guy can act should be given a further reality check with this film.
What saves this film from being a total wipeout is the beforementioned action sequences which do provide some interesting tension to the proceedings.
If just a little more thought had gone into the script this might have been more of a winner.
6 out of 10.