As I was driving to the theater I could already imagine precisely what type of movie I was in for. Given the budget, the trailer, and the scope of its publicity I knew it would be the typical holiday season, action thriller containing a threadbare plot, lots of stunts, explosions whether they’re warranted or not, good guys, bad guys, love interests, characters with a vengeance, and of course, an old crusty guy with some sort of mythical and/or spiritual powers. It’s Cliffhanger without the muscles, but with better stunts.

Chris O’Donnell plays Peter Garrett. He’s a photographer for National Geographic and, of course, a top-notch mountain climber. His sister is Annie (Robin Tunney). She too is an ace climber and both are still haunted by the death of their father. Annie blames Peter for his death since it happened when all three were out for a climb and a critical decision had to be made. As a result, she no longer speaks to him.

However, that all changes when Annie and a small group of climbers get trapped on a treacherous mountain. Peter feels it is his obligation to save her no matter what the cost. It’s his way of redeeming himself for what happened to his father. Along for the ride is a rag tag group of climbers that we all know will get knocked off at one time or another -- the audience only has to guess when. One of them is Montgomery Wick (Scott Glenn). He’s the old, crusty mystic whose wife died on the same mountain a few years before. He’s somewhat of a legend in the eyes of some climbers and he’s still looking for his wife’s body and the person he figures is to blame for her death. He’s the kind of character that’s thrown into movies to feign some kind of character development, despite the fact that no one in the world like him really exists.

This movie is for its stunts, not its story. As a result, there are no real surprises, but to its credit it does have a lot of hair-raising spectacles. The opening scene is incredibly gripping. Later on when the helicopter pilot is attempting to drop the rescue squad on the mountain the tension builds so effectively that most of the audience is squirming in their seats. However, even great action, no matter how spectacular, gets tiresome after a while. The action starts strong, but reliance on stunts and the lack of a plot slow it down considerably. Vertical Limit loses steam long before its climax and only gets a **1/2 rating.

• Go Back