Some die, some survive

Rating: 5/10 (29 January 2016)

Every day we read in the newspaper and on TV that some people died in an accident somewhere but we don't make a movie about them. Honestly, I don't know what they found interesting in the story which made them spend all that money and gather an outstanding group of actors even for small roles. The idea of some climbers who guide normal people to the top of Everest is intriguing enough to get our hopes high. But then what? What about the story? In the first paragraph I used a lot of some's and there was a reason. To the very end of the movie they remain some people. We never identify with them because they are never introduced well enough to arouse our sense of sympathy. Moreover, some of them die in an absolutely ridiculous way. Take for instance the guy who fell off the ridge and we were supposed to feel sad. Well, I laughed. On the other hand, when some of them come back to life ( big surprise, right?), best case scenario we feel indifferent. In other words, it is not explained why that particular character should live and others not. Although efforts are made to make the characters more humane. For example Rob( the protagonist) has a wife at home and another surprise, she is pregnant. But wait! There are more. Rob still doesn't know if it's a girl or boy. Too familiar, right? Or Beck whose marriage is going through a rough patch and his last conversation with the wife ( Robin Wright, great performance; in fact, too good for this movie) before his presumed death is less than friendly. Instead of these old techniques we wish there were stronger characters.
In the first hour, before the storm hits, nothing happens. Then when finally the action starts the audience is exhausted because of the wait and confused because of numerous characters. At times we don't know who is going up and who is coming down, and wearing those oxygen mask did not help. Frankly at the end we almost forget who lived and who died.
In the past few years there have been a number of movies about survival in harsh conditions and most of them are overrated. For instance 'Impossible' which is as entertaining as a two line piece of news in local newspaper (and because the family was not Asian they just had to make a movie about it). Or even 'Gravity' about a woman who didn't die. Well, OK in space! But where is the drama here? However, there is 'The Martian' which is actually a great movie with a humorous, attractive performance of Matt Daemon who single handedly takes the audience to Mars.
'Everest' can be summarized in the title of this review. Some die and some survive. Read it again and you don't need to see the movie. If you are interested in a story with a survival theme, check the news.