Vertical Limit (2000)
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48% of critics liked it
(109 reviews) -
44% of users liked it
(59,259 ratings)
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… More 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, Rovi
- Directed By
- Martin Campbell
- Written By
- Robert King, Terry Hayes
- Genres
- Drama, Action & Adventure
- In Theaters
- Dec 8, 2000 Wide
- On DVD
- May 22, 2001
- Studio
- Columbia Pictures
Critic Reviews
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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.
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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.
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David Germain, Associated Press
When the characters just shut up and dangle, Vertical Limit becomes one heck of a wild time.
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Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee
Vertical Limit has no plot -- or, rather, just a semblance of a plot.
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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.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
Cast
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Chris O'Donnell
as Peter Garrett
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Bill Paxton
as Elliot Vaughn
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Robin Tunney
as Annie Garrett
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Scott Glenn
as Montgomery Wick
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Izabella Scorupco
as Monique Aubertine
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Temuera Morrison
as Major Rasul
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Stuart Wilson
as Royce Garrett
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Nicholas Lea
as Tom McLaren
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Alexander Siddig
as Kareem
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Robert Taylor
as Skip Taylor
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Roshan Seth
as Colonel Amir Salem
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David Hayman
as Frank "Chainsaw" Williams
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Ben Mendelsohn
as Malcolm Bench
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Steve LeMarquand
as Cyril Bench
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Charles Graham
as Climbing Doubles
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Robert Mammone
as Brian Maki
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Ed Viesters
as Ed Viesturs
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Clinton Beavan
as WNN Cameraman
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Dave Bergman
as Climbing Doubles
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Karl Boomsma
as Climbing Doubles
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Alistar Bronins
as Ali
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Rod Brown
as Ali Hasan
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Campbell Cooley
as Campbell
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Craig Gavin
as Summit Air Pilots
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Jo Davidson
as Italian Team Member
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Augie Davis
as Aziz
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Patricia Deavoll
as Climbing Doubles
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Tiffany DeCastro
as Crying Woman
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Aaron Halstead
as Climbing Doubles
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Sally Spencer Harris
as Party Goers
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Bruce Hasler
as Climbing Doubles
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Bruce Kingan
as Rasul Flying Double
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Bryan Moore
as Climbing Doubles
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Leela Patel
as Mayama Wick
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Tamati Rice
as Party Goers
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Leos Stransky
as Grunge Climbers
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Tom Struthers
as Grunge Climbers
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Alejandro Valdes-Rochin
as Sergeant Asim
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Kat West
as Climbing Doubles
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Nicole Whippy
as Spanish Climber
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Craig Walsh Wrightson
as Party Goers
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Shahid Zafar
as Prayer Leader



