• Vertical Limit (2000) -- Shallow, popcorn entertainment with death-defying heroics, 7/10.

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Your host, and film critic Jonathan Paula reviews everything from opening day releases, recent DVDs, upcoming trailers, and classics from years past. Each "Quick Review" is an excerpt from a full episode, which airs on the Jogwheel channel every week.

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~~ Review Script ~~
Martin Campbell, the man who brought us "GoldenEye", "Green Lantern", and "Casino Royale", directs this action thriller that nearly tripled its $75-million dollar budget. Despite being released in December of 2000, the 124-minute feature feels fresh out of the 90s.

There is a certain quaintness and unrestrained fun from action films of this era. Back when movies mixed chaotic excitement with unbelievable stunts... nowadays filmmakers strive for realism and grittiness over the flashy explosions of yesteryear. In the wake of 9/11, I understand the reasoning behind this broader thematic shift in Hollywood - the world was a darker, scarier, more uncertain place... but damn do I miss the carefree nonsense movies like "Vertical Limit" brought to the screen. So when I say this PG-13 rated survival flick feels like a cheesy 90s adventure? That is absolutely a compliment. I mean... a major plot device in this picture are unstable canisters of explosive nitroglycerin our intrepid hikers foolishly lug up the world's most dangerous mountain!

In between these gratuitous explosions, the narrative sees Chris O'Donnell leading a group of daring mountain climbers to the top of K2 in search for his missing sister. The large cast of familiar faces includes the cute but resourceful Robin Tunney, Scott Glenn as a mysterious and scary mountain man, and Bill Paxton as a cocksure thrill-seeker who goads a cautious companion by rudely reminding him of the mountain, "I mean, did you really think she was gonna lift up her skirt and pull her panties down for us?" Former Bond-girl Izabella Scorupco and Star Trek alum Alexander Siddig also portray fellow climbers. The acting from this core group remains believable in even the most harrowing situations - which has our protagonists dangling from cliffs and ledges on an eye-rolling four separate occasions.

The premise of their rescue mission is to ascend the world's harshest peak as quick as possible, but nearly every time we check on their progress, they're sitting around and delivering speeches to each other. There are great set-pieces and stunt-work here, and the movie effortlessly pivots from one to the next - but the real highlight is a stunningly powerful cold-open set above Utah's Monument Valley. It's a nail-biting and emotional sequence that forces O'Donnell to make a critical life or death decision. This five-minute prologue is so profoundly intense, it honestly makes the remainder of the picture a disappointment - especially since the next half hour is devoted entirely to character introductions.

Commendably the quickly-paced movie is photographed on location at various mountain ranges around the world, lending much needed realism to the ridiculous story. Some of the more impossible scenarios were obviously accomplished with chroma-keyed backgrounds and effects, but even for its age, they look surprisingly solid. James Newton Howard's forgetful score blends woodwinds with heavy drums to give the picture a somewhat Pakistani sound.

Falling victim to several tropes and predictable twists, and a few too many dumb decisions, this is a movie many might dismiss. But, if you want shallow, popcorn entertainment with death-defying heroics and grossly negligent rock-climbing techniques - you can't go wrong with "Vertical Limit". It's a movie I bought on VHS way back in 2001 and it's been a guilty pleasure ever since. I'll rate this a SEVEN out of ten.
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