Perhaps a version of 1996 Everest tragedy. Good movie

Rating: 6/10 (24 January 2017)

This film is based on 1996 Mount Everest disaster. It doesn't completely cover it, and tells the story of two main expedition teams who got involved in it. It can't be said to be a "true story". It can't be said to be a filmed inspired from the tragedy. It is like something that goes in between these two. Perhaps we can say it does not cover the tragedy completely but do give us the feeling – the feeling of grief and you may be engulfed in that grief cloud for a couple of days. In the initial parts, we get to see some parts of Nepal (other than the ice-capped Himalayas) but then we would get too involved in getting to know the characters that we would literally pay no attention to it. Also once we get to see the majestic mountains, new characters again get into picture, as we keep registering in our brains as to who is who, we totally forget the mountains. There aren't many shots showing the natural beauty around or any shot (long enough,) for us to gape at the beauty of the majestic mountains. But once the real mountaineering begins, one can't help but appreciate the way it has been filmed, Simply awesome. Action scenes are good, and there is no exaggeration. There is a scene where Beck Weathers falls off a ladder. This gives a small glance as to how things can go wrong. However, just the walking pace of the climbers is enough to let the audience know what the mountain can do to you. Once the descent starts, the story becomes mostly about Rob Hall (or Adventure Consultants). The other characters could have also been portrayed a bit more like in the beginning of the movie where we get a peek onto why each one is planning to summit and also an introduction to Weathers family. Same could have been done in the end too and also some thing of the Mountain Madness clients. You can't fit everything into 2 hours, I guess. When the disaster strikes, you do get a feeling that you are up there grasping for breath. Some scenes do get us into questioning some of the decisions taken by the characters, but then its all explained in the beginning, "Its not called the Death Zone for nothing". If you feel grief stricken and it doesn't go away after a few days, just watch the movie again. The second time you would be drawing your attention towards other things, like South Col, Balcony, Hillary Step and of course, who is who under their masks (it's a tough job. I guess they removed their masks at summit just to show us who is who!!). Again, if you are interested you can google on 1996 Everest Disaster and find out that the whole thing hasn't gotten into the movie. Also, reading Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air. But if you are reading it, then make sure you read Anatoli Boukreev's The Climb and you get to see the whole thing from another angle. Whatever we research on, we will never be able to know for sure what all happened on that fateful day. So its best to think of it as a version of the 1996 Everest tragedy and try to enjoy it as just another movie.