shanayneigh
The visuals are for the most part great, sometimes blurring the line between archival documentary footage and re-enactment. But the movie itself is poorly structured. For seemingly no reason at all it jumps back and forth in time, making one unsure exactly what happened when, and how much time has passed. I imagine a more linear approach would have been much more effective. There was a bunch of climbers divided into three groups, but the movie doesn't do a very good job of introducing them, with a few exceptions, making them indistinguishable from one another. Consequently it's sometimes hard to understand who is where on the mountain and when, exacerbating the problems of the non-linear narrative. It's a pity. This movie could've been great, especially with the documentary footage, but it's lacking in focus.
Craig Ashley
I've seen this awful film/documentary a few times and each time I feel something so rotten and so wrong resonating at the core of it... everything, from the production values, the 'trying to be slick' typography to the blatant narcissism of the talking heads: it's pretty grotesque.It's a mosaic of mostly selfish, odious '90s' people who, in their quest for that flag waving moment atop the - wait for it - summit, simply couldn't care less who else appears in their way. There's also some pretty transparent agendas here, a thinly-veiled blame culture.Really, really shocking (for the wrong reasons), confusing and, as a work of art, just as botched, giddy and rushed as the tragedy it describes.
thelightsareoff
This is a fascinating story and a filmmaker's dream. But the filmmakers managed to make the story very confusing. The interviews are often hard to understand because of the different accent the people have. Then, it is mixed and edited in confusing sequence. Critical questions are not asked, it is a discovery-style movie but so poorly scripted that at the end one still question himself...so what did actually happen? The footage and scenery delivers spectacular views, but unfortunately the film does not transfer the drama which has taken place that day. Let someone take the material, re-shuffle it into a proper order and add a voice-over who can put some context, structure and critical notes in.
Paul Reynolds
This movie shows the challenges met by a high altitude mountaineer on K2 and the codes they conform to in order to survive. Its well worth watching to get a great insight into such a dangerous activity and try and portray the enormous risks and challenges people take in conquering the most dangerous mountain in the world. The movie also tells the truth of what really happened on the mountain from reliable witnesses (the surviving climbers themselves). It was also great to see such a great character Ger McDonnell shine through in his personality and character from personal footage on the mountain. It makes me proud to see such a great Irishman accomplishing such a huge challenge. 10 out of 10 for an overall excellent film
AD
