The movie “Vertical Limit” was set by New Zealand director Martin Campbell, who gained world fame after the 17th film about the 007 super-agent called “Golden Eye” (2005). By the way, Bond-Bronson made his debut. And literally a year later the film "Casino" Royale "was released." Both films were a stunning success and significant box office.
In contrast, the film “Vertical Limit” did not become particularly popular and recouped, but this does not mean that the viewer should intentionally ignore him. After all, Campbell first conducted filming in his native New Zealand. Admiring the heroic story underlying the script, he created a truly magnificent film, which from the prologue to the final credits is saturated with the primordial courage and heroism of the main characters. Emotional tension, a perfectly tuned atmosphere, increasing tension are involuntarily transmitted to the viewer, and he already empathizes with the protagonists during the course of the story.
To the madness of the brave we sing a song
The tragic beginning of the film “Vertical Limit” sets the tone for the whole story. After which the storyline, bypassing several decades, again confronts the viewer with the main characters Annie and Peter. They, having already matured, cannot recover from children's psychological trauma. The main character in a group of climbers is going to conquer the ill-fated peak K2, which is barely inferior in height to Everest. This peak is deservedly considered one of the most dangerous in the world, but the millionaire sponsoring the expedition is guided only by its mercantile considerations. This is his second attempt, the first ended tragically, there were practically no survivors in the team of climbers, and the summit remained unconquered. Naturally, this group in the process of recovery is expected to insidious vicissitudes of fate, because of which they become buried alive in a small crevice almost already at the top of the mountain, in the death zone. So climbers call the vertical limit, the height after 8000 meters, where due to oxygen starvation over a long stay, pulmonary and cerebral edema gradually arise. Moreover, at a given height, a person can count on only 10% of his physical abilities. After receiving the news, Peter and five desperate daredevils are sent to help her sister, who decide to rise to the same height with explosives and free the injured climbers from ice captivity. The main characters have to go through a grand adventure full of deadly dangers, the fight against the rebellious elements.
After watching the film “Vertical Limit”, whose trailer is not able to fully convey the scale of the tragedy, you begin to perceive mountain climbing in a different way. Here the famous song of V. Vysotsky is recalled. The remarkableness of this picture can also be called the identical first and last scenes in which one of the heroes goes to voluntary death, self-sacrifice for the sake of saving his family-team. An impressive picture, seething with adrenaline, with a magnificent plot. The "vertical limit" can be called the standard of adventure cinema dedicated to mountaineering.