Vertical limit

Movie
German title	Vertical limit
Original title	Vertical limit
Country of production	United States , Germany
original language	English
Publishing year	2000
length	119 minutes
Age rating	FSK 12
Rod
Director	Martin Campbell
script	Robert King ; Terry Hayes
production	Martin Campbell ; Mike Medavoy
music	James Newton Howard
camera	David Tattersall
cut	Thom Noble
occupation
	Chris O'Donnell : Peter Garrett; Robin Tunney : Annie Garrett; Scott Glenn : Montgomery Wick; Bill Paxton : Elliot Vaughn; Izabella Scorupco : Monique Aubertine; Nicholas Lea : Tom McLaren; Alexander Siddig : Kareem Nazir; Roshan Seth : Colonel Amir Salim; Stuart Wilson : Royce Garrett;

Vertical Limit is an American feature film directed by Martin Campbell and starring Chris O'Donnell . With worldwide box office earnings of around 215 million US dollars , the film, produced in 2000 , is considered a financial success.

content

In the prologue of the film, the siblings Peter and Annie Garrett climb a rock face with their father. Due to the accident of another climbing group, all three are hanging together on the rope, and the father forces Peter to cut him off the rope in order to save the two.

Years later, Peter and Annie meet again in the base camp of K2 , their relationship has been hypothermic since the incident. Annie takes part in an expedition led by the ambitious millionaire Elliot Vaughn, who wants to climb the summit for PR purposes. Although the weather is already getting worse, Vaughn gets mountain guide Tom McLaren to move on. When the storm breaks, the group turns back, and Annie, Vaughn and McLaren fall into a crevice that is buried by an avalanche .

Peter puts together a rescue team at base camp. To free the trapped, they carry nitroglycerin with them so that they can be blown free. Halfway up, they can persuade loner Montgomery Wick, whose wife was killed on a previous Vaughn expedition, to come along. While parts of the rescue team have an accident with the nitroglycerin and other avalanches and die, Wick discovers the frozen body of his wife. He explains to Peter that he suspects Vaughn caused her death and that he will hold him accountable.

Meanwhile, those buried are fighting for their lives, the water and denatured alcohol are running out. Vaughn kills McLaren to stretch the remaining supplies longer. So Peter and the French-Canadian Monique reach the buried victims and blow them up. During the rescue, the same situation occurs as at the beginning of the film: Peter, Wick and Vaughn are hanging on a rope and threaten to fall into the crevasse. Wick cuts himself off and Vaughn, who is hanging below him. Annie as well as Peter and Monique, who have also become closer on a human level, return to base camp.

criticism

“A photographically impressive mountaineering drama whose potential for conflict approaches the dimensions of an ancient tragedy. The spectacular images of course cover up the human drama, especially since the characters are only insufficiently developed. "

- Lexicon of international film

“Despite the great effort, it was not possible to make the plot seem realistic. Almost nothing in this film looks like the real mountain. Whether an avalanche is triggered with an explosive charge or half the mountain is blown up after an explosion - it is laughable. "

- Reinhold Messner