SUMMIT FEVER is one of the more disappointing mountaineering films out there, mainly because it has no real plot. At least thrillers like CLIFFHANGER and A LONELY PLACE TO DIE (which director Julian Gilbey also made) had thriller plots with a mountaineering backdrop, which gave them drive and narrative coherency. Here, we just get a group of dull young friends (and added Hollywood star Ryan Philippe for name value) who decide to go climb a few mountains. Tragedy strikes on occasion, but it's not very thrilling or indeed involving. Gilbey obviously has a real-life passion for mountaineering but I do wonder if this would have just worked better as a documentary.
Review of Summit Fever
