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Chris O'Donnell, Bill Paxton, Robin Tunney, Scott Glenn, Izabella Scorupco ... see more see more... , Temuera Morrison , Stuart Wilson , Nicholas Lea , Alexander Siddig , Robert Taylor , Roshan Seth , David Hayman , Ben Mendelsohn , Steve LeMarquand , Charles Graham , Robert Mammone , Ed Viesters , Clinton Beavan , Dave Bergman , Karl Boomsma , Alistar Bronins , Rod Brown , Campbell Cooley , Craig Gavin , Jo Davidson , Augie Davis , Patricia Deavoll , Tiffany DeCastro , Aaron Halstead , Sally Spencer Harris , Bruce Hasler , Bruce Kingan , Bryan Moore , Leela Patel , Tamati Rice , Leos Stransky , Tom Struthers , Alejandro Valdes-Rochin , Kat West , Nicole Whippy , Craig Walsh Wrightson , Shahid Zafar

Family differences and personal grudges add drama to an already tense situation as the lives of a team of mountain climbers hang in the balance in this action drama. Peter Garrett (Chris O'Donnell) an... read more read more...d his sister Annie (Robin Tunney) are the children of Royce Garrett (Stuart Wilson), an avid outdoorsman and climbing enthusiast who died when an accident left all three hanging from a single rope; Royce ordered Peter to cut him loose to save the lives of his kids, even though he knew it would mean his death. Years later, Peter has given up climbing and become a respected nature photographer, while Annie, who holds Peter responsible for her father's death, is a famous world-class mountain climber who is hired by Elliot Vaughn (Bill Paxton), a self-made billionaire, to help him scale K2, a mountain in the Himalayas that's the second-highest peak in the world. In the midst of the climb, dangerous weather strikes, and Elliot, Annie, and their crew find themselves trapped in a cavern that's been sealed tight by an avalanche. Peter, who is near K2 working on an assignment, quickly organizes a crew of expert climbers to save Annie and the other mountaineers, who must work under a tight deadline before the trapped climbers run out of air. Peter's partners in the rescue include beautiful medic Monique (Izabella Scorupco), radical climbers Cyril (Steve Le Marquand) and Malcolm (Ben Mendelsohn), disciplined Pakistani crewman Kareem (Alexander Siddig), and Montgomery (Scott Glenn), an eccentric outdoorsman who has a score to settle with Elliot. While backgrounds were shot on location in Pakistan, most of the climbing sequences in Vertical Limit were actually filmed on mountain ranges in New Zealand. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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44% liked it

58,495 ratings

Critics

48% liked it

109 critics

PG-13, 2 hr. 4 min.

Directed by: Martin Campbell

Release Date: December 8, 2000

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DVD Release Date: May 22, 2001

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Stats: 1,656 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (1,656)

  • ythelastman89
    May 17, 2011
    ythelastman89
    This was the coolest movie when I was 11 years old and I still have to say that it's a lot of fun and delivers adrenaline with an icy cold fury. It's like an unofficial companion to Cliffhanger; this deals with a similar case of rock climbing guilt. There are so many crazy stunts... read more, unwarranted destruction and deadly situations that it's hard not to get wrapped up in the story and feel the power of snow terror running down your spine. Chris O'Donnell fares extremely well as his action star self, something that must've been hard to achieve post-Batman & Robin. Bill Paxton also works well as the movie's diabolical villain who somehow manages to outshine a natural disaster. With incredibly well shot action sequences, great pacing and fun characters, it's hard not to find something to enjoy about this.
  • crunchbunch
    February 19, 2011
    crunchbunch
    Vertical Limit is an exciting Mountain Climbing, action packed guilty pleasure. The acting isnt great and the special effects are average at best but the storyline is well delivered and will have you hanging on the edge of your seat throughout.

    Twists and turns are what power th... read moreis movie forward as we follow a rescue mission up K2, against the elements and against time as Peter Garrett (Chris O'Donnell) tries to save his sister.

    Its the opening sequence that hooks you in though as its probably one of the most effective and emotionally draining opening scenes I've seen in a very long time. Very powerful and a great way to start the movie.

    As said, this is a guilty pleasure and Bill Paxton is always worth a watch!

    "That's a bloody great idea. Smoking next to the nitro. Although, bro and I always hoped that you'd blow us. "
  • BEACHBUNNI
    September 21, 2010
    BEACHBUNNI
    This movies tagline...Hold your breath... really describes what i did in parts of the movie. The climbing teams experience many life and death instances, beginning with the opening scene,and i thought the films cinematography was beautiful .there were lots of explosions, avalanch... read morees, people hanging from a cliff kind of thing. just a shame that, after its stunning opening, it begins to drag a bit
  • thmtsang
    November 11, 2009
    thmtsang
    Chris has to overcome his fears and do a daring rescue in this survival movie. Good story.
  • SirPant
    September 25, 2009
    SirPant
    A ok action film in snow. Bill Paxton can?t act but it never seems to matter!
  • stormyweather980
    September 11, 2009
    stormyweather980
    A group of rock climbers including a well known billionaire, Annie (Robin Tunney), and a guide, all go climbing in order to reach the top of the towering mountain called K2. Unfortunately, they get caught up in a storm, which traps all three of them in a cold and icy place. It's ... read moreup to Annie's brother (Chris O'Donnell) and a few other volunteers to try their best and rescue the three that are trapped. But it won't be easy because not only do they have to worry about heights, but there are also other hazards such as frostbite and avalanches that are lurking around the corner.
    Going mountain or rock climbing is something I know I couldn't do, but I waited a long time to see "Vertical Limit" because I like action movies and I was expecting it to be a great one. It is suspenseful and it has decent special effects (but not great ones), but it's also very predictable and it could've been a lot better in almost every way, especially in the plot, action, and script categories.

    I recommend anybody to at least watch "Vertical Limit." It's not bad for a disaster movie and it's worth watching, just don't expect it to have a strong plot or script. NOTE: That was my Amazon review from the year 2001. This was one of those movies that had a nature side that I thought I'd love, but it didn't deliver nearly as much as I wanted it to.
  • MovieGeek13
    January 16, 2009
    MovieGeek13
    A rather bland thriller that relies way too much on coincidence.
    It's surprisingly well crafted, and the acting isn't too bad. But then the story elements feel cheesy and stupid. It's never a good sign when a movie has nitroglycerin in its plot, cuz you know that nitro is goi... read moreng to explode when the plot requires it to. The rest of the story feels hammy and stupid. Why couldn't they have made this a simple rescue movie? That would have been way more entertaining.
  • LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    October 6, 2008
    LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    Montgomery Wick: "Peter, do you know where you are? Above 24,000, you're at the vertical limit, you're already dying. Look at you. You can hardly stand. If you think you can stop me, go ahead."

    A high-adrenaline tale of young climber Peter Garrett (Chris O'Donnell), who m... read moreust launch a treacherous and extraordinary rescue effort up K2, the world's second highest peak. Confronting both his own limitations and the awesome power of nature's uncontrollable elements, Peter risks his life to save his sister, Annie (Robin Tunney), and her summit team (Bill Paxton and Nicholas Lea) in a race against time. The team is trapped in an icy grave at 26,000 feet - a death zone above the vertical limit of endurance where the human body cannot survive for long. Every second counts as Peter enlists the help of a crew of fellow climbers, including eccentric, reclusive mountain man Montgomery Wick (Scott Glenn), to ascend the chilling might of the world's most feared peak to save her.

    This movie is the most boring, pretentious, uninteresting piece of shit that I've ever laid my eyes on. The character development is almost non-existent, the acting is horrible especially that lead girl, talk about cardboard performances. The story had potential but its the execution that failed miserably. The awkward plot scenarios, appalling camera angles and ridiculous dialogue. Chris O' Donnell can pass off as a lead actor but always he stars in atrocious movies like this. Bill Paxton's role as the supposed villain/entrepreneur will just make you laugh unintentionally. His reason for climbing K2 is pretty stupid. They're calling it a publicity stunt in the film but I think its a stupid way to promote your airline company. There are some boundaries to such things.

    Towards the end of the film, I was almost half asleep, the supposed high wire tension just made me even more sleepy, at that time I just wanted it to be done and over with.

    I remember when I was a youngling when I saw this for the first time on VHS, I totally loved this film but now, its totally different. I hated it the second time around. I guess times change.

    1/5
  • ajaymuthecooldevils
    August 4, 2008
    ajaymuthecooldevils
    I didn't expect that this movie could do an adrenaline push-up for me, I thought it just a usual sports movie that telling about mount climbing... The story itself just ordinary, some people want to climb the top but they got flushed away by a snowstorm and then the rescue team c... read moreomes along to save them but not all people can be saved... The view that sold in this movie was spectacular, makes you want to do a little mount climbing after watching this movie... Even that I get a little disappointed because not all of the effects are real, I captured some scenes with a snowstorm in it, just a part of the National Geographic or something like that I think... But after all, it's a pretty good movie.. Really pump your adrenaline by watching this...
  • puffchunk
    October 1, 2007
    puffchunk
    So dumb....

View All Vertical Limit Reviews

Critic Reviews

Peter Howell
December 8, 2000
Peter Howell, Toronto Star

The pace of the movie rarely flags (neither does the idiocy, alas) and it's enough to warrant a marginal recommendation. Full Review

Susan Stark
December 8, 2000
Susan Stark, Detroit News

This is a movie that means to keep you involved and, preferably, gasping from start to finish . At that, it certainly does succeed. Full Review

David Germain
December 8, 2000
David Germain, Associated Press

When the characters just shut up and dangle, Vertical Limit becomes one heck of a wild time.

Joe Baltake
December 8, 2000
Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee

Vertical Limit has no plot -- or, rather, just a semblance of a plot. Full Review

Jay Boyar
December 8, 2000
Jay Boyar, Orlando Sentinel

Certainly a movie in which people are forced to test themselves in unpleasant situations. But the people I have in mind are the people in the audience.

Steven Rosen
December 8, 2000
Steven Rosen, Denver Post

But at its worst, Vertical Limit makes you weary with its stock characters and de rigueur explosions, avalanches, collapsing crevices and the like. Full Review

Robert Denerstein
December 8, 2000
Robert Denerstein, Denver Rocky Mountain News

An overblown and predictable melodrama.

Gene Seymour
December 8, 2000
Gene Seymour, Newsday

There's a huge surplus of edge-of-your-seat whatevers in this thin-air thriller about a rescue mission on K2. But by the end, you can't tell who's got more bruises: the actors or your nerves. Full Review

Eric Harrison
December 8, 2000
Eric Harrison, Houston Chronicle

The film has unusually witty dialogue for a movie of this genre. Full Review

Terry Lawson
December 8, 2000
Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press

Nearly all, from a gut-crunching helicopter drop to a literal cliff-hanger of excruciating tension, will have you mentally grasping for a lifeline, even if you fail to completely comprehend what's goi...

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