Phoebe Chou (Ting Chen)

Christen Enos
November 9th, 2015

Context note:
I have created a movie review on the recently released movie Everest for a general audience;
people who wants to watch the movie but hasn't or people who has watched the movie and is
interested in what other people has to say, but mainly at teenagers or a younger audience. I chose
this genre because I thought it would be interesting to write a review since I have never wrote a
proper one before. This document could be published on a blog since it doesn't have formal or
fancy wording but instead just my personal opinion and thought. I chose to write in an informal way
because I wanted to attract younger audience and to make it easier for them to read.

MOVIE REVIEW: EVEREST - NEVER LET GO

Everest the name that is frightening yet attractive to most climbers is once again made into
a movie through the majestic sceneries of the mountain. It is the dreams of many mountain
climbers to reach the top of the world highest mountain, Mount Everest. However whilst climbing in
the freezing cold mountain, many suffer altitude sickness and because of it has failed to reach the
top or died on the way.
Everest is a survival film based on the real events of the 1996 Mount Everest disaster that
conveys the idea of The last word always belongs to the mountain and You cant stop whats
coming. The thriller and suspense of the movie makes you feel like you were there.
The movie mainly focuses on two groups that were rival expeditions at helping their clients
get to the top of Mount Everest in the 1996 incident. Team Adventure Consultants was led by Rob
Hall, acted by Jason Clarke, and Mountain Madness was led by Scott Fischer, acted by Jake
Gyllenhaal. Both were experience leaders however their approach to leading was different. Rob

Hall takes a cautious and caring approach whilst Scott Fischer took the more strict and risky
approach.
Before conquering Mount Everest climbers had to go through different training sessions to
ensure they are prepared to climb the mountain. After days of preparing they were finally ready to
climb Everest. However, as they began their journey a serious ice storm heads their way and
forces some of them to go different ways. On the way they were delayed due to an untied guide
rope. After fixing it and a long climb Rob brings part of his climbers to the top of the mountain
where they jubilantly plants their flags. At the same time Scott was experiencing high-altitude
pulmonary edema but wouldn't stop helping his clients to move forward. After a long struggle Scott
also brings some of his clients to the peak of Mount Everest. As most of them reached the top the
storm got heavier, forcing them to descent.

As they began to move towards their base camp Rob finds one of his clients, Doug,
struggling to climb up and orders him to turn back since the storm was getting worse. Regardless
of what Rob says Doug insists on moving forward and tells Rob that if he doesn't reach the top
now he will never have a chance again. Rob reluctantly agrees and moves back up with him. As
Doug and Rob reaches the top of the mountain and is ready to climb down a blizzard hits.
Meanwhile Doug becomes semi conscious due to his oxygen tank running out. Rob then decides
to leave him tied the guide rope in order to find additional oxygen bottles. However Dougs
unconscious mind unties the rope which causes him to slip off the trail and died.
As the blizzard hits the rest of the group starts to face life threatening problems. Some had
hypothermia, lack of oxygen and other high-altitude symptoms. In the end causing Scott and some
of Robs clients to freeze and died. On the other hand Rob still remains trapped on the mountain
waiting for help to get to him. But the blizzard was too big and made it impossible to send help up,
forcing Rob to stay a night on the mountain and was told to Never Let Go
Overall the movie was breathtaking and lots of tension could be felt while watching it. The
cinematography of the movie can be said to be its main strength and uniqueness. When the
climbers almost fell off the mountain my stomach churned and I could hear people in the cinema

gasping. This was all created by the visuals that gives a sense of tension, suspense and thriller.
The soundtrack also adds to the tension making Mount Everest seem invincible. All together the
movie skilfully presents the idea of The last word always belongs to the mountain and "You cant
stop whats coming from the real events of the 1996 Mount Everest disaster.
Nevertheless, the movie had its weaknesses; the lack of focus on the characters and the
relationship between them. Throughout the movie there isn't much of an interaction between each
character since the main focus was on each individual climbing the mountain and the problems
they each faced. Having a pregnant wife waiting for her husband to come back, the movie also has
a bit of an adventure/disaster movie clique. Some critics have compared Everest with books on
the same event, Into Thin Air and Beck Weathers memoir, and concluded Everest does not
show the whole event and has made a tragic incident into a heroic movie.

All in all, I really like this movie due to its excellent cinematograph and the high tension
feeling throughout the movie. Even though the movie has some weaknesses I think that it was
filmed that way since it is based on a real event therefore they have re-created the event as it is. I
would recommend people that enjoy the stomach churning and high tension feeling to watch it!