'Everest' review: An experience, not for the faint-hearted!

Film: Everest

Director: Baltasar Kormákur

Cast: Jason Clarke, Jake Gyllenhaal, Josh Brolin, Sam Worthington, John Hawkes, Robin Wright, Keira Knightley, Emily Watson, Martin Henderson

Rating: ***1/2 (Three and half stars)

What's it about:
In 1996, Rob Hall and his team from Adventure Consultants took clients up the summit Mt Everest along with other expedition parties. By then, the commercialisation of expeditions to reach the summit of Mt Everest had become a full-blown business. Getting to the top, it would seem, was the relatively easy part. Getting everybody down, safely, and in one piece, was the difficult part. Based on the disaster that saw eight deaths during a blizzard that hit climbers in May 1996 deaths on Everest, this is a cold, long, hard, look at man versus the elements.

We are introduced to Rob leaving his pregnant wife Jan for the expedition in Nepal, where he meets up again with the rest of his team of guides and support staff, along with the clients - climbers with sufficient experience in mountaineering. Once they reach the mountain's base camp and meet the other campers, tempers flare and partnerships are forged all in quick succession. 

The ascent begins, moving higher and higher towards the summit and we learn more about the climbers, their reasons for scaling Everest and become quite aware of what it takes to be up there and the perils involved. 

What's hot:
The cinematography (Salvatore Totino) is top-notch. If you're watching this in IMAX, it's almost like you're there. A visually stunning film for the most part, it makes the mountain as much a character as the other supporting cast. Attention has been paid to keep the cast as physically similar to the actual climbers on that fateful expedition. Clarke is spot-on as the leader Rob Hall. Josh Brolin (as Beck Weathers) and Jake Gyllenhaal (as Scott Fischer), however, are scene-stealers in their limited time on screen.  

What's not:
The women have precious little to do here. Not Keira's Jan Arnold, not Emily Watson's Helen Wilton and not Robin Wright's Peach Weathers, who cry and wait for the men to return. But since, this is a true story, there's really precious little to be done here anyway. It's disheartening, however, to see people (some that grow on you, others you couldn't care less about) you learn about over the course of two-odd hours, succumb to the elements.

What to do?
It's an experience to be had, definitely. However, this isn't one for the faint-hearted. Nothing outright gory, but it's got some of the most scariest moments in films on mountaineering. It's not overdramatised or cheesy, and that's always a relief. Go for this one!