Vertical Limit

They don’t seem to make many films up mountains. Okay, James Bond usually found an excuse to ski down one for no apparent reason, and there was of course the trashy but entertaining turn Cliffhanger but, by and large, climbing has been a subject that Hollywood hasn’t paid that much attention to.

Grab your ice pick and unwrap your Kendal Mint Cake as Martin “Mark of Zorro??? Campbell bravely attempts to scale new heights in this high altitude, high-octane thriller set on the deadly K2.

Chris O’Donnell stars as our reluctant hero Peter alongside Robin Tunney as his sister Annie. In the opening scene we see them involved in a gripping climbing incident involving their father, in which Peter has to take a life or decision, which leaves them both emotionally scarred and to all intents and purposes estranged.

Peter has become a wildlife photographer while his sister has continued to climb and is now a leading part of the K2 expedition headed by ambitious and driven businessman Elliot Vaughan, who at first comes across as a sort of Richard Branson figure. Lurking in the background and disparaging the venture is the strange and brooding mountain man Montgomery Wick (Scott Glenn).

Naturally, this being a Hollywood movie the climb does not go as planned mainly due to the stubborn single mindedness of Vaughan and in order to save his sister, Peter must face his demons and gather together a motley crew of climbers to mount a daring and explosive rescue. Wick is cajoled into joining the rescue party but he has own dark and vengeful motives for making the ascent.

If you enjoy spectacular action set pieces then you’ll love what comes next and Campbell keeps the tension while moving the action at a cracking pace. Helicopters, explosives and of course avalanches all play their part as the rescuers soon find themselves in as much danger as those they are trying to save.

Tunney makes for a feisty damsel in distress while Paxton is superbly treacherous as the self-serving Vaughan. O’Donnell doesn’t quite cut the mustard as the squared jawed hero but Scott Glenn takes the honours as he gradually pulls back the layers of the hard faced mountain man to reveal the pain that drives him.

The plot may be formulaic but Campbell’s mastery of the action genre more than makes up for that and when the cast are on the edge of a precipice, you’ll be on the edge of your seat.

Rating 7 out of 10

Vertical Limit debuts on Sky Movies Premier and Sky Movies Premier Widescreen on Saturday 13th July at 8pm