'Vertical Limit' remains grounded

By Phil Witte
Daily Forty-Niner

Since Hollywood is such a slave to formula, every movie released after Dec. 1 that does not feature Helena Bonham Carter and/or subtitles must be treated with suspicion.

Given that, there is no reason to think that director Martin Campbell's "Vertical Limit" would be anything less than a well-plotted, well-acted and interesting look at man's struggle against nature. That is, until you sit through this pathetic excuse for an action movie.

As "Limit" opens, siblings Peter (Chris O'Donnell) and Annie Garrett (Robin Tunney) are climbing up the side of a mountain with their father and two expendable extras. Not all parties survive, setting the tone for a corny and awkward tragedy that the rest of the film more than lives up to.

The crux of the film centers on the attempts of Texas billionaire Elliott Vaughn (Bill Paxton) and his quest to reach the top of K2, the second highest mountain in the world. Helping Vaughn up the daunting peak are Annie and Tom McLaren (Nicholas Lea) as well as two more of those handy disposable extras. Displaying the kind of arrogance only cartoonish rich male movie character can have, Vaughn pushes the team up despite adverse weather and three of the team fall into an icy ravine. Guess which three.

By sheer coincidence, when everything happens Peter is on the next mountain over photographing leopards, so he is available to lead the rescue attempt. Since a rescue attempt means sending more people up to near-certain death, it becomes a "Private Ryan"-like question of how many lives are worth risking to save three.

Since this is a cliché action movie, the requisite elements must be present on the rescue attempt. A pair of wacky Australian brothers are included for comic relief, a foreign babe is included for sexual tension, and, brilliantly, multiple canisters of nitroglycerine are included for the sole purpose of causing explosions and avalanches.

Given the snowy locale, comparisons to "Cliffhanger" are inevitable. While "Limit" does not have Stallone's mumbling or John Lithgow's ridiculous accent, it does have Scott Glenn as toe-less hermit Montgomery Wick, who spends his days wandering the mountains looking for his long-lost and presumably frozen wife.

Near the end of the movie one character is made to be a villain, but it happens so late and so feebly that by the time it happens you feel no real animosity toward the character, just toward the person that talked you into seeing this movie.

The acting is wooden, the plot is ludicrous, and the script is abysmal. Basically, everything we've come to expect from Hollywood action movies. For diehard action junkies there are a few highlights, including exploding shoes, haircuts by helicopter, and the occasional "peoplesicle."

But "Limit" has too many flaws to make enjoyable; even as a mindless action movie. For starters, it looks like it was edited in a blender. Characters move from one spot to another from shot to the next with no continuity. Also, there are so many pointless avalanches, explosions and falling climbers that the audience is drained and numbed long before the inevitable and predictable finale.

"Limit" has none of the playfulness or excitement of director Martin Campbell's last film, "The Mask of Zorro," but that is likely due to the wide personality gulf between Paxton, O'Donnell and Glenn and Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Screenwriter Robert King's previous works include Cutthroat Island and Clean Slate. Enough said.

O'Donnell does well in his role but he hasn't completely made the transition from "Robin"-hood to leading man status. Tunney still has the dazed look she wandered around with in "End of Days." Of course, after being Satan's girlfriend every role must be a letdown. Lea, best known as Krycek from "The X-Files," has a great future ahead as the other guy in some other star's action vehicle. Paxton and Glenn continue to walk the tight line between stardom and Val Kilmerdom.
The only positive that may come out of this movie is the discouragement of mountain climbing in the general public. Just as "Top Gun" was basically a recruitment movie for the Navy, the sight of so many people plummeting to their death in "Vertical Limit" may discourage potential mountain climbers. Also, this film may convince people not to try something asinine like climbing a mountain with a container of nitroglycerine strapped to their back.

Columbia Pictures

Izabella Scorupco in "Vertical Limit"scheduled for release Friday.