Vertical Limit

Like The Perfect Storm, Vertical Limit makes a perfect match of computer generated effects and natural disasters. The terrain of the movie is made up of endless expanses of snow, some of it covering rock, some covering only more snow and likely to give way under foot without warning. As befits a director whose biggest hit was one of the James Bond movies (GoldenEye), Martin Campbell paces the thrills evenly throughout the movie. Whatever combination of technical tricks were used to accomplish it, the actors always appear to be a part of this frozen environment, even when hanging off the side of impossibly high precipices.

While it doesn't lack for thrills, Vertical Limit becomes a bit grim as it goes along. Characters are killed off as regularly and mechanically as in a slasher movie, and effect that is numbing and a little distasteful. Instead, the script should have worked harder to flesh out the characters, giving us more to root for. Chris O'Donnell and Robin Tunney are likeable leads, the talented Bill Paxton hissable but not as interesting as he was in A Simple Pan. Scott Glenn is well cast as the man of mystery who puts aside his personal demons to join the rescue mission, but all of the performers would have benefited from stronger characters to work with.