Everest is a well-made film which struggles from a lack of originality and overall just feels like a typical drama. Baltasar Kormakur takes the audience to a high altitude on a journey with a star-studded cast including Jason Clarke (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), Michael Kelly (Chronicle), Josh Brolin (The Goonies), and Jake Gyllenhaal (Donnie Darko, Nightcrawler). All of the performances are well done, but again nothing stands out as fresh or new. Gyllenhaal's is probably the best performance in the film, but we have grown accustomed to his glorious acting in his other films. I feel as though this should have been a breakout role for some of the actors, but nothing really shocked me about the performances.
However, the cinematography was shocking. Kormakur takes us to various parts of Everest and all of the filming seems genuine and real. I am sure there were plenty of special effects that went into the making of the film, but all of them fit well with the scenery. Nothing comes off as fake or poorly filmed. Kormakur shows his ability to bring the audience somewhere that most of them have never been before. For allowing us to see an unfamiliar landscape, I applaud Kormakur. I watched the film on a tablet but would love to see it on the big screen.
My follow-up to this film will be eventually reading Krakauer's book, Into Thin Air. Different perspectives of the story might bring about different opinions. Therefore, it is always good to check out as many of the perspectives as we can. The film did not have an original or fresh feel to it, but maybe it will seem even more spectacular in comparison with the book.
The Bottom Line: This feels like a typical disaster-style film with some great actors using their familiar acting methods.
Score: 8.8/10
However, the cinematography was shocking. Kormakur takes us to various parts of Everest and all of the filming seems genuine and real. I am sure there were plenty of special effects that went into the making of the film, but all of them fit well with the scenery. Nothing comes off as fake or poorly filmed. Kormakur shows his ability to bring the audience somewhere that most of them have never been before. For allowing us to see an unfamiliar landscape, I applaud Kormakur. I watched the film on a tablet but would love to see it on the big screen.
My follow-up to this film will be eventually reading Krakauer's book, Into Thin Air. Different perspectives of the story might bring about different opinions. Therefore, it is always good to check out as many of the perspectives as we can. The film did not have an original or fresh feel to it, but maybe it will seem even more spectacular in comparison with the book.
The Bottom Line: This feels like a typical disaster-style film with some great actors using their familiar acting methods.
Score: 8.8/10
