Vertical Limit (2000)

Director:

Martin Campbell

Writers (WGA):

Robert King (story)
Robert King (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

8 December 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

Tagline:

This December. Fear will Fall. Courage will Rise.

Plot:

A climber must rescue his sister on top of K2, one of the world's biggest mountains.

Plot Keywords:

Rescue | K2 | Death | Parricide | Urination Scene

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Chris O'Donnell	...	Peter Garrett
Robin Tunney	...	Annie Garrett
Stuart Wilson	...	Royce Garrett
Augie Davis	...	Aziz
Temuera Morrison	...	Major Rasul
Roshan Seth	...	Colonel Amir Salim
Alejandro Valdes-Rochin	...	Sergeant Asim
Nicholas Lea	...	Tom McLaren
Rod Brown	...	Ali Hasan
Scott Glenn	...	Montgomery Wick
Steve Le Marquand	...	Cyril Bench (as Steve le Marquand)
Ben Mendelsohn	...	Malcolm Bench
Izabella Scorupco	...	Monique Aubertine
Bill Paxton	...	Elliot Vaughn
Ed Viesturs	...	Himself

Also Known As:

Vertical Limit (Germany)
Vertical Limit - In größter Gefahr (Germany) (TV title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense life/death situations and brief strong language.

Runtime:

124 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English | Urdu

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Finland:K-12 | Iceland:12 | South Korea:12 | Philippines:PG-13 | Brazil:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Denmark:15 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Hungary:14 | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Singapore:PG | Spain:7 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

K2, Karakoram Mountain Range, Pakistan

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

While the actual 28,000 foot "K2" is in the Karakoram Range in Pakistan, Mt. Cook in New Zealand served as the backdrop for all scenes involving the infamous peak.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Everything shown about belaying and climbing techniques, high altitude mountaineering, helicopter usage, high altitude medicine (exception: dex), high altitude mountaineering clothes and the shape of K2 is wrong.

Quotes:

Annie Garrett: Peter, are you there? Peter?
Peter: Annie? Annie, is that you? Annie. Annie, what is it?
Annie Garrett: Where are you?
Peter: Five hours away.
Annie Garrett: I want you to go back. Don't risk it. There's no reason. I won't be here and neither will Tom.
Peter: How long?
Annie Garrett: An hour. Two at the most. Peter? Peter!
Peter: I'm here Annie.
Annie Garrett: I've been thinking. I've been thinking a lot about Dad. We shouldn't have gotten him a grave. We should have come up here together with his ashes. He said this is where he was the happiest. He was a climber. I think every real climber would want to stay on the mountain. What do you think?
Peter: I think we'll come back some day. The two of us. For Dad.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Legend of the Lost Tribe (2002) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Patient Heart

Superb Edge Of Your Seat Action-Adventure

I was absolutely glued to my seat the whole way through this stunning movie about the rescue of a group of mountain climbers stranded in the Himalayas. This movie features non-stop action which almost exhausts those watching it.

I find it strange that I have to say that none of the actors really stood out to me. Chris O'Donnell was ostensibly the "star" of the movie as Peter Garrett, a wildlife photographer for National Geographic who organizes the rescue of the team which included his sister Annie, played by Robin Tunney. Neither O'Donnell nor Tunney exactly captivated me. I was much more taken by Scott Glenn's performance as Montgomery Wick, the reclusive mountain climber who ends up leading the rescue mission. But this was a good ensemble cast. No one really took over, but everyone held up their end.

All sorts of subplots spin around in this. Questions of who should live and who should die when not everyone can make it; issues of greed taking priority over safety and good sense; the complicated brother-sister relationship of Peter and Annie. It all worked well. I'm not usually a great fan of adventure movies, but this is a must see - and even if you end up not liking the story, it's a must see even if only for the spectacular photography.

Personally, though, I can't think of anything not to like in this, and I rate it as a 10/10.