Plot
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) and 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, RoviReview
Following the great visual successes of GoldenEye (1995) and The Mask of Zorro (1998), director Martin Campbell continues honing his reputation as a creator of smart thrillers with this exciting, fast-paced action-drama set in the Himalayas. If the script at times strains credulity with stock supporting characters such as those played by Bill Paxton and Scott Glenn, it also maintains a taut, suspenseful framework for Campbell's ingeniously mounted action scenes. The screenplay by Terry Hayes and Robert King also keeps the tension high by zipping along at a brisk clip, never allowing the audience too much time to consider how outrageous the entire enterprise truly is, which is the mark of a superb "B" picture. The cast, led by Chris O'Donnell and Robin Tunney, is uniformly fine, with Alexander Siddig a particular standout in a small role as a rescuer bent on saving his cousin. However, the real star of Vertical Limit is its director, as Campbell once again displays a high degree of capability with sprawling action material, putting previous mountain-climbing flicks such as Cliffhanger (1993) to shame. ~ Karl Williams, RoviCast
- Chris O'Donnell - Peter Garrett
- Bill Paxton - Elliot Vaughn
- Robin Tunney - Annie Garrett
- Scott Glenn - Montgomery Wick
- Izabella Scorupco - Monique Aubertine
- Temuera Morrison - Major Rasul
- Stuart Wilson - Royce Garrett
Credit
Kim Sinclair - Art Director, Jill Cormack - Art Director, Nick Bassett - Art Director, Andrea Adams - Animator, Mark Spevick - Animator, Philip A. Patterson - Associate Producer, Amy Reid Lescoe - Associate Producer, David Allen Smith - Boom Operator, Diana Rowan - Casting, Pam Dixon - Casting, Pete Anthony - Conductor, Graciela Mazon - Costume Designer, Joe McCloskey - Costume Designer, Philip A. Patterson - First Assistant Director, Martin Campbell - Director, Simon Crane - Second Unit Director, Thom Noble - Editor, Marcia Nasatir - Executive Producer, Kimberly Logan - Location Manager, Robert Story - Location Manager, Robin Mounsey - Location Manager, James Newton Howard - Composer (Music Score), Brad Dechter - Musical Arrangement, Camille Henderson - Makeup, Lynn Barber - Makeup, Sherry Hubbard - Makeup, Nikki Gooley - Makeup, Michael Krehl - Makeup, Gerry Vasbenter - Camera Operator, Steve Kroschel - Camera Operator, Peter McCaffrey - Camera Operator, Andy Wilson - Camera Operator, Jon Bunker - Production Designer, David Tattersall - Cinematographer, Dave Hardberger - Cinematographer, Tim Coddington - Production Manager, Catherine Madigan - Production Manager, Nancy King - Production Manager, Martin Campbell - Producer, Lloyd Phillips - Producer, Robert King - Producer, Paul Dunn - Special Effects, Steven Warner - Special Effects, Stephen Shelley - Special Effects, Paul Stevenson - Special Effects, Mark Meddings - Special Effects, Alistair Anderson - Special Effects, David Brighton - Special Effects, Gareth Clarke - Special Effects, Peter Cleveland - Special Effects, Paul Crowe - Special Effects, David G. Crownshaw - Special Effects, Jabin Dickins - Special Effects, Ray Ferguson - Special Effects, Wayne Flockton - Special Effects, Peter Haran - Special Effects, Ryan Hartnett - Special Effects, Tim Howell - Special Effects, Peter Jahnsen - Special Effects, Mike Kerby - Special Effects, John Maine - Special Effects, Jason McCameron - Special Effects, Martin McLaughlin - Special Effects, Roger J. Porteous - Special Effects, Simon Quinn - Special Effects, Mark Robson - Special Effects, Kevin Rogan - Special Effects, Mark Rogan - Special Effects, Shuan Rutter - Special Effects, Gerard Slaven - Special Effects, Ivan Taylor - Special Effects, Hamish Revell Thompson - Special Effects, Colin Umpelby - Special Effects, Anne Marie Walters - Special Effects, Peter White - Special Effects, Barry Whitrod - Special Effects, Alan Young - Special Effects, Kathleen Cusack - Sound/Sound Designer, David Cronnelly - Stunts, Steve Davis - Stunts, Sandy East - Stunts, Wade Eastwood - Stunts, Jamie Edgell - Stunts, Mark Franklin Henson - Stunts, Lindsay Herlinger - Stunts, Tony Marsh - Stunts, Jo McLaren - Stunts, Brooke Sandahl - Stunts, Sheree Swords - Stunts, Simon Crane - Stunts Coordinator, Dean Lockwood - Special Effects Supervisor, Neil Corbould - Special Effects Supervisor, Robert King - Screen Story, Terry Hayes - Screenwriter, Robert King - Screenwriter, Fraser Taggart - Second Unit Director Of Photography, Roger Vernon - Additional Cinematography, Sarah Shackleton - Production Assistant, John Catron - Production Assistant, Patricia Compter - Production Assistant, Seumas Cooney - Production Assistant, Natalie Cox - Production Assistant, Jen Gasson - Production Assistant, PJ Harling - Production Assistant, Kerryn Highsted - Production Assistant, Helena Larssen-Allen - Production Assistant, Pauline Marran - Production Assistant, Erin McLean - Production Assistant, Alex Pilcher - Production Assistant, Scott Reid - Production Assistant, John Thomssen - Production Assistant, Rob Wilkin - Production Assistant, Jennifer Bosworth - Production Assistant, Courtney Rackley - Production Assistant, Kent Houston - Visual Effects Supervisor, Scott Sanders - Sound Effects Editor, Karen S. Alvarez - Executive in Charge of Production, Lloyd Phillips - Unit Publicist, Sue May - Unit Publicist, Daniel Monaghan - Additional Editing, Slater Crosby - First Assistant Camera, Carlos De Carvalho - First Assistant Camera, Jason Ellis - First Assistant Camera, Justin Fonda - First Assistant Camera, Werner Martiz - First Assistant Camera, Pat Morrow - First Assistant Camera, Adam Clark - First Assistant Camera, Eddie Knight - Gaffer, Tom Franchette - Gaffer, Thad Lawrence - Gaffer, Don M. Black - Grip, Peter Clemence - Key Grip, Terry Fraser - Key Grip, David Nichols - Key Grip, Jim Weidman - Music Editor, Richard Bernstein - Music Editor, David Olson - Music Editor, Susan Parker - Production Coordinator, Julie Huntsinger - Production Supervisor, Tink Ten Eyck - Production Supervisor, Carole Fontana - Production Supervisor, Caroline Usher - Properties Master, Bob McCarron - Prosthetic Makeup Effects, Scott Wolf - Re-Recording Mixer, Scott Millan - Re-Recording Mixer, Nikki Clapp - Script Supervisor, Sarah Hinch - Script Supervisor, Jacinta Gibson - Second Assistant Director, Ellen Hillers - Second Assistant Director, Jamie Marshall - Second Assistant Director, Tony Simpson - Second Assistant Director, Alan Rankin - Sound Effects Director, Hector Gika - Sound Effects Director, Bruce Richardson - Sound Effects Director, Peter McCaffrey - Steadicam Operator, Colin Monteath - Still Photographer, Kent George - Still Photographer, Dave McMoyler - Supervising Sound Editor, Kim Beuche - Visual Effects Producer, Tricia Henry Ashford - Visual Effects Producer, Andrew Kopra - Visual Effects Producer, Jennifer Hall Lee - Visual Effects Producer, Mark Schafer - Visual Effects Producer, Peter Hornbuckle - Costume/Wardrobe, Marcus Taylor - Costume/Wardrobe, Miranda Brown - Costume/Wardrobe, Lindsey Edwards - Costume/Wardrobe, Craig Henry - Costume/Wardrobe, Katherine Skinner - Costume/Wardrobe, Jeena Phelps - ADR Editor, Fred Stahly - ADR Editor, Howard London - ADR Mixer, Danielle Valenciano - Assistant Costume Designer, Adam Brailsford - Assistant Location Manager, Orville Sisco - Assistant Location Manager, Mark Van Der Wilt - Assistant Location Manager, Felicity Letcher - Assistant Production Coordinator, Sarah Metcalfe - Assistant Production Coordinator, Carl Venimore - Best Boy Grip, Greg Tidman - Best Boy Grip, Simon Ambrose - Best Boy Grip, Pip Steele - Buyer, Janelle Aston - Buyer, Carey Johnson - Construction Coordinator, B.J. Rogers Meddings - Costumes Supervisor, Dianne Foothead - Costumes Supervisor, Mark Gordon - Dialogue Editor, Constance A. Kazmar - Dialogue Editor, Lou Klienman - Dialogue Editor, Jay Munro - Dolly Grip, Jon Copley - First Assistant Accountant, Tanya Bidois - First Assistant Accountant, Robert Fiske - First Assistant Accountant, Jodine Muir - First Assistant Accountant, Kirsten Stevens - First Assistant Accountant, Tristan Brighty - First Assistant Editor, Rebecca Stocker - First Assistant Editor, Gary A. Hecker - Foley Artist, Matthew Dettman - Foley Artist, Stu Bernstein - Foley Editor, Valerie Davidson - Foley Editor, Cheryl Williams - Key Hairstylist, Simon Nicolas Zanker - Key Hairstylist, Steve Mitchell - Scenic Artist, Gary Grimes - Scenic Artist, Trevor Lithgow - Scenic Artist, Rachel Beard - Second Assistant Camera, Ullric Raymond - Second Assistant Camera, Luke Thomas - Second Assistant Camera, Florent Vassault - Second Assistant Camera, Jock Fyfe - Second Assistant Camera, Elisa Cohen - Second Assistant Editor, Martin Gorzeman - Set Dresser, Carl Aldana - Storyboard Artist, David Russell - Storyboard Artist, Ronald Croci - Storyboard Artist, Peter McCully - Storyboard Artist, Richard Newsome - Storyboard Artist, Paul Fisher - Transportation Captain, Mick Snell - Transportation Captain, Anohana Production Management and Technology, LLC - Visual Effects, Bernhard Henrich - Set Decorator, The Reel Team - ADR Loop Group, Andrea Horta - ADR Supervisor, Dean McKenzie - Craft Service/Catering, Flying Trestles - Craft Service/Catering, Michael Johnstone - Craft Service/Catering, Fiona Wadman - Craft Service/Catering, Christopher Hogan - Foley Supervisor, Mo Henry - Negative Cutter, Jeffrey Rogers - Pilot, Gavin Craig - Pilot, Bruce Kingan - Pilot, Derek Cook - Pilot, Kerry Fodie - Pilot, Richard Hayes - Pilot, Alfie Speight - Pilot, James Howe - Set Medic/First Aid, Corbin Fox - Special Effects Technician, Dan Cervin - Special Effects Technician, Monte Thompson - Special Effects Technician, Kazmer Harangozo - Third Assistant Director, Maury Jacks - Video Assist, Duncan Paterson - Video Assist, Martin Allan Kloner - Visual Effects Editor, Frameline - Title Design, Roger Vernon - Assistant Director, Ma Twinam-Cauchi - CG Animator| Vertical Horizon: Tour Book '99-'01 (2001 Film), Vertical Frontier (2003 Film) | |
| Vertical Roll (1972 Film), Vertige Pour un Tueur (1970 Film) |
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