Vertical Limit
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''Vertical Limit'' is a 2000 American
survival Survival, or the act of surviving, is the propensity of something to continue existing, particularly when this is done despite conditions that might kill or destroy it. The concept can be applied to humans and other living things (or, hypotheti ...
thriller film directed by
Martin Campbell Martin Campbell (born 24 October 1943) is a New Zealand film and television director based in the United Kingdom. He is known for having directed ''The Mask of Zorro'' as well as the James Bond in film, James Bond films ''GoldenEye'' and ''Cas ...
, written by Robert King, and starring
Chris O'Donnell Christopher Eugene O'Donnell (born June 26, 1970) is an American actor and former model. He played Charlie Sims in '' Scent of a Woman'', Chris Reece in ''School Ties'', D'Artagnan in ''The Three Musketeers'', Jack Foley in the drama film '' C ...
,
Bill Paxton William Paxton (May 17, 1955 – February 25, 2017) was an American actor and filmmaker. He appeared in films such as '' Weird Science'' (1985), ''Aliens'' (1986), ''Near Dark'' (1987), '' Tombstone'' (1993), ''True Lies'' (1994), '' Apollo 13 ...
,
Robin Tunney Robin Tunney (born June 19, 1972) is an American actress. Tunney made her film debut in the comedy ''Encino Man'' (1992) and rose to prominence with leading roles in the cult films ''Empire Records'' (1995) and '' The Craft'' (1996). Her perform ...
, and
Scott Glenn Theodore Scott Glenn (born January 26) is an American actor. His roles have included Pfc Glenn Kelly in ''Nashville'' (1975), Wes Hightower in ''Urban Cowboy'' (1980), astronaut Alan Shepard in '' The Right Stuff'' (1983), Emmett in '' Silverado'' ...
. The film was released on December 8, 2000, in the United States by
Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...
, receiving mixed reviews and grossed $215 million at the box office. The film was the third collaboration between Campbell and actor Stuart Wilson, after '' No Escape'' (1994) and ''
The Mask of Zorro ''The Mask of Zorro'' is a 1998 American swashbuckler film based on the character of the masked vigilante Zorro created by Johnston McCulley. It was directed by Martin Campbell and stars Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta-Jone ...
'' (1998).


Plot

While climbing in
Monument Valley Monument Valley ( nv, Tsé Biiʼ Ndzisgaii, , meaning ''valley of the rocks'') is a region of the Colorado Plateau characterized by a cluster of sandstone buttes, the largest reaching above the valley floor. It is located on the Utah-Arizona s ...
, siblings Peter and Annie Garrett lose their father, Royce. After two falling climbers leave the family dangling, Royce forces Peter to cut him loose in order to save Peter and Annie. Three years later, Peter has retired from climbing, but Annie has become a renowned climber. Their relationship is strained, as Annie still blames Peter for Royce's death. Peter reunites with Annie at the K2 base camp, where Annie is planning a summit attempt on K2. The expedition is funded by wealthy industrialist Elliot Vaughn. Their team includes Annie, Vaughn, renowned climber Tom McLaren, mountaineer Ali Nazir, and one other. The night before the climb, Vaughn throws a party. The gala is interrupted by reclusive Montgomery Wick, reportedly the foremost K2 expert, who verbally challenges Vaughn. It's later revealed that Wick's wife, an expedition guide, died during Vaughn's previous expedition. Vaughn claims they were hit by a storm and Wick's wife died of
pulmonary edema Pulmonary edema, also known as pulmonary congestion, is excessive edema, liquid accumulation in the parenchyma, tissue and pulmonary alveolus, air spaces (usually alveoli) of the lungs. It leads to impaired gas exchange and may cause hypoxemia an ...
because her supply of
dexamethasone Dexamethasone is a glucocorticoid medication used to treat rheumatic problems, a number of skin diseases, severe allergies, asthma, chronic obstructive lung disease, croup, brain swelling, eye pain following eye surgery, superior vena cav ...
was swept away in the storm. Wick has never believed that story and has spent years trying to find his wife's body. Back in the present day, Vaughn forces McLaren to continue despite a radio warning from base camp of an approaching storm. An
avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be set off spontaneously, by such factors as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, animals, and earth ...
occurs, and Annie, Vaughn, and McLaren become trapped in a
crevasse A crevasse is a deep crack, that forms in a glacier or ice sheet that can be a few inches across to over 40 feet. Crevasses form as a result of the movement and resulting stress associated with the shear stress generated when two semi-rigid pie ...
, while the other two are killed. Radio contact is lost, but Peter hears Annie using static and
Morse code Morse code is a method used in telecommunication to encode text characters as standardized sequences of two different signal durations, called ''dots'' and ''dashes'', or ''dits'' and ''dahs''. Morse code is named after Samuel Morse, one of ...
to signal that they are alive. Peter assembles a rescue team, which includes Wick. Pairs are assigned, and after a treacherous helicopter drop-off, each pair takes a different path to increase chances of success. Each pair carries a canister of explosive
nitroglycerine Nitroglycerin (NG), (alternative spelling of nitroglycerine) also known as trinitroglycerin (TNG), nitro, glyceryl trinitrate (GTN), or 1,2,3-trinitroxypropane, is a dense, colorless, oily, explosive liquid most commonly produced by nitrating ...
donated by the
Pakistani army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the Partition of British India, which occurred as a result ...
to clear the entrance to the crevasse. Monique and Cyril experience a harrowing incident after Cyril loses his balance at the edge of a cliff. While Monique attempts to rescue him their nitro canister falls over the cliff and explodes, causing another avalanche. Monique survives but Cyril does not. At the military station the nitroglycerine canisters are exposed to sunlight and explode. Base camp tells the team to get their cases of nitro into the shade. Kareem and Malcolm do so, but their canister leaks fluid into the sunlight, causing another explosion that kills them. Underground, McLaren is severely injured and has lost his dexamethasone. Annie shares her dex with him, but Vaughn refuses it. Annie risks her life to reach Ali's backpack and manages to obtain more dex, but Vaughn says that since McLaren is unlikely to survive, he and Annie should keep the dex for themselves. The explosions have shaken loose some ice, and Wick finally discovers his wife's body. The empty dex container nearby suggests that Vaughn lied and stole her dex, ensuring his own survival while leaving Wick's wife to die. Monique, Peter and Wick camp for the night. Peter is wary of Wick, who seems more intent on taking revenge than in rescuing the survivors. In the crevasse, Annie falls asleep, and Vaughn kills McLaren with a syringe full of air to avoid having to give McLaren more dex. Wick awakens to find that Peter and Monique have left without him. Annie and Vaughn manage to mark the crevasse entrance by detonating a flare inside a bag of McLaren's blood which explodes over the snow. Peter and Monique see the marker and use nitro to blast a hole, enabling access to the survivors. They drop a rope, and Vaughn harnesses Annie. Wick descends into the cave, and although Vaughn thinks Wick will attack him, Wick attaches a clip to Vaughn. Monique and Peter attempt to pull Annie out of the crevasse, but an ice boulder falls, knocking Wick and Vaughn from the ledge in the crevice, and pulling Annie and Peter down, creating a scenario similar to the opening scene: Monique alone remains on the ledge holding the rope from which the other four are dangling. To save Annie and Peter and, to fulfill his desire for revenge against Vaughn, Wick cuts the rope and he and Vaughn fall to their deaths. Recovering at base camp, Annie reconciles with Peter, who then pays his respects at a makeshift memorial for climbers who have died.


Cast

*
Chris O'Donnell Christopher Eugene O'Donnell (born June 26, 1970) is an American actor and former model. He played Charlie Sims in '' Scent of a Woman'', Chris Reece in ''School Ties'', D'Artagnan in ''The Three Musketeers'', Jack Foley in the drama film '' C ...
as Peter Garrett *
Bill Paxton William Paxton (May 17, 1955 – February 25, 2017) was an American actor and filmmaker. He appeared in films such as '' Weird Science'' (1985), ''Aliens'' (1986), ''Near Dark'' (1987), '' Tombstone'' (1993), ''True Lies'' (1994), '' Apollo 13 ...
as Elliot Vaughn *
Robin Tunney Robin Tunney (born June 19, 1972) is an American actress. Tunney made her film debut in the comedy ''Encino Man'' (1992) and rose to prominence with leading roles in the cult films ''Empire Records'' (1995) and '' The Craft'' (1996). Her perform ...
as Annie Garrett *
Scott Glenn Theodore Scott Glenn (born January 26) is an American actor. His roles have included Pfc Glenn Kelly in ''Nashville'' (1975), Wes Hightower in ''Urban Cowboy'' (1980), astronaut Alan Shepard in '' The Right Stuff'' (1983), Emmett in '' Silverado'' ...
as Montgomery Wick *
Izabella Scorupco Izabella Scorupco (born Izabela Dorota Skorupko; 4 June 1970) is a Polish-born Swedish actress, singer and model. She is best known for having played Bond girl Natalya Simonova in the 1995 James Bond film ''GoldenEye''. She is also known for her ...
as Monique Aubertine *
Temuera Morrison Temuera Derek Morrison (born 26 December 1960) is a New Zealand actor and Singer who first gained recognition for his role as Dr. Hone Ropata on the soap opera ''Shortland Street''. He gained critical acclaim for his starring role as Jake "The ...
as Major Rasul * Robert Taylor as Skip Taylor * Stuart Wilson as Royce Garrett *
Nicholas Lea Nicholas Lea (born Nicholas Christopher Herbert; June 22, 1962) is a Canadian actor known for his portrayal of Alex Krycek on ''The X-Files'' and of Tom Foss on ''Kyle XY''. Life and career Lea was born in New Westminster, British Columbia. He ...
as Tom McLaren *
Alexander Siddig Siddig El Tahir El Fadil El Siddig Abdurrahman Mohammed Ahmed Abdel Karim El Mahdi (born 21 November 1965) is a Sudanese-born English actor and director known professionally as Siddig El Fadil and subsequently as Alexander Siddig. Siddig i ...
as Kareem Nazir *
David Hayman David Hayman (born 9 February 1948) is a Scottish film, television and stage actor and director, known for his role as DCS Mike Walker in ITV drama ''Trial & Retribution'', as Jonas Franks in BBC period drama '' The Paradise'' and as Brace i ...
as Frank "Chainsaw" Williams *
Ben Mendelsohn Paul Benjamin Mendelsohn (born 3 April 1969) is an Australian actor. He first rose to prominence in Australia for his breakout role in ''The Year My Voice Broke'' (1987) and since then he has had roles in films such as '' Animal Kingdom'' (2010) ...
as Malcolm Bench *
Steve Le Marquand Steve Le Marquand (born 26 December 1967) is an Australian-born actor, known both locally and internationally for his film and stage work. Personal life Born in Perth, Western Australia in 1967, his family moved to Sydney when he was quite yo ...
as Cyril Bench *
Roshan Seth Roshan Seth (born 2 April 1942) is a British-Indian actor, writer and theatre director who has worked in the United Kingdom, United States and India. He began his acting career in the early 1960s in the UK, but left acting the following decade ...
as Colonel Amir Salim *
Ed Viesturs Edmund Viesturs (born June 22, 1959) is a high-altitude mountaineer, corporate speaker, and well known author in the mountain climbing community. He is the only American to have climbed all 14 of the world's eight-thousander mountain peaks, and ...
has a cameo in the film, playing Himself as a mountain trainer.


Production

''Vertical Limit'' was filmed on location in Pakistan (location of K2),
Queenstown, New Zealand Queenstown ( mi, Tāhuna) is a resort town in Otago in the south-west of New Zealand's South Island. It has an urban population of The town is built around an inlet called Queenstown Bay on Lake Wakatipu, a long, thin, Z-shaped lake formed by ...
and the United States.
Bell 212 The Bell 212 (also known as the ''Twin Two-Twelve'') is a two-blade, medium helicopter that first flew in 1968. Originally manufactured by Bell Helicopter in Fort Worth, Texas, United States, production was moved to Mirabel, Quebec, Canada in ...
helicopters contracted from Hevilift Australia were painted in a khaki green colour to represent the Pakistani Air Force.


Reception


Box office

''Vertical Limit'' grossed $69.2 million domestically and $215.7 million worldwide, becoming the 17th-highest-grossing film of 2000. Against a budget of $75 million, the film was a success. In the United States, the film opened at No. 1 during its opening day, December 8, earning an estimated $5.1 million, overtaking ''
How the Grinch Stole Christmas ''How the Grinch Stole Christmas!'' is a Christmas children's story by Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel written in rhymed verse with illustrations by the author. It follows the Grinch, a grouchy, solitary creature who tries to cancel Christmas by st ...
'', which had stayed since November 17. On its opening weekend, the film finished second at the box office, with $15.5 million.


Critical reception

''Vertical Limit'' received mixed reviews from critics, as the film holds a 48% rating on
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
based on 110 reviews, with an average rating of 5.2/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "The plot in ''Vertical Limit'' is ludicrously contrived and clichéd. Meanwhile, the action sequences are so over-the-top and piled one on top of another, they lessen the impact on the viewer". On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the film has a weighted average score of 48 out of 100, based on 29 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". The movie has the rating of on Allmovie.com. According to free-soloing legend
Alex Honnold Alexander Honnold (born August 17, 1985) is an American rock climber best known for his Free solo climbing, free solo ascents of Big wall climbing, big walls. Honnold rose to prominence in June 2017 when he became the first person to free solo El ...
, the unrealistic opening scene is "horrendous and probably the worst scene in all of Hollywood climbing".
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
gave the film three stars out four, commenting, "It's made from obvious formulas and pulp novel conflicts, but strongly acted and well crafted... "Vertical Limit" delivers with efficiency and craft, and there are times, when the characters are dangling over a drop of a mile, when we don't even mind how it's manipulating us." James DiGiovanna of ''
Tucson Weekly The ''Tucson Weekly'' is an alternative newsweekly that was founded in 1984 by Douglas Biggers and Mark Goehring, and serves the Tucson, Arizona, metropolitan area of about 1,000,000 residents. The paper is a member of the Association of Altern ...
'' wrote, "...now O'Donnell brings his shockingly wholesome whiteness to ''Vertical Limit'', the best mountain-climbing movie starring Chris O'Donnell to come out this week." Philip French of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' mentioned, "Campbell sustains the tension pretty well and the settings are spectacular. More interesting than the characters, however, are two aspects of the dramatic background. The first is an isolated army post on a mountain peak from which ill-equipped Pakistani soldiers fire an artillery barrage every afternoon in the direction of India as an absurd daily ritual. The second is seeing rich, mindless Americans ruining a beautiful corner of the world in the name of self-discovery. They're a new class of anti-social climbers." David Ansen of ''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
'' wrote, ""Vertical Limit" produces a decidedly split reaction in an audience. You gasp at the action sequences, then giggle at the drama, then gasp, then giggle until finally the filmmakers pile on one cliffhanger too many. By that point, the gasps have become muted by sheer disbelief... Alternately generating adrenaline and ennui, "Vertical Limit" battles itself to a hard-earned draw."


References


External links

* * * * {{Martin Campbell 2000 films 2000 drama films 2000 thriller drama films 2000s American films 2000s disaster films 2000s English-language films 2000s psychological drama films American adventure drama films American disaster films American survival films American thriller drama films Avalanches in film Columbia Pictures films Films about death Films about siblings Films directed by Martin Campbell Films scored by James Newton Howard Films set in Gilgit-Baltistan Films set in Pakistan Films set in Utah Films shot in New Zealand K2 Military of Pakistan in films Mountaineering films