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'Everest' an IMAXed high-grade disaster film

On May 10, 1996, a freakish storm killed eight climbers as they made their way down from the top of the world's tallest mountain.

Ordinarily, you'd think "Everest," Baltasar Kormakur's dramatization of this horrible event, would be a suspenseful, gripping motion picture celebrating the classic theme of man vs. nature.

"Everest" packs in moments of visceral unease and angst, for sure. But at its core, the drama plays like a high-grade 1970s disaster movie pumped with eye-popping IMAX 3-D imagery that does wonders for breathtakingly scenic snowscapes, but not much for intimidatingly huge close-ups of actors' faces.

The only thing missing from "Everest" would be a movie poster with stars' photos accompanied by the slogan from 1974's "Earthquake" - "Who will survive?"

Caring, conscientious team leader Rob Hall (Jason Clarke) has a pregnant wife (Keira Knightley) waiting for him back home. He runs the company Adventure Consultants along with his coordinator Helen (Emily Watson) and associate Guy (Sam Worthington).

Tough-talking, but vulnerable Texan Beck Weathers (Josh Brolin) leaves a wife (Robin Wright) and two kids back in the Lone Star state.

Timid U.S. postman Doug (John Hawkes) hopes to make it to the top after one failed attempt. Friends pitched in to pay for his trip, and he wants to inspire his hometown.

The quiet Japanese climber Yasuko (Naoko Mori) has already knocked off the highest mountains on other continents. Everest will be the biggest notch on her oxygen tank.

Journalist Jon Krakauer (Michael Kelly) goes along to write a story about the trip for Outside magazine. (The real Krakauer also wrote the best-seller "Into Thin Air: Death on Everest.")

Two other groups are led by an American free spirit, Scott Fischer (Jake Gyllenhaal) and by a Russian (Ingvar Sigurdsson) who's so macho he declines to use oxygen tanks.

"Humans are simply not built to function at cruising altitudes for a 747!" climbers are told.

Yet, when favorable weather forecasts give them the green light, they all ascend to the mountain top on the same day, unaware a surprise storm lies in wait.

To their credit, screenwriters William Nicholson and Simon Beaufoy sidestep the caricatures and soppy sentiment of lesser '70s disaster movies. Still, the characters remain too generic to warrant full investment of our emotions even as "Everest" turns into National Geographic torture porn with characters slowly freezing to death.

Howling winds and killer temperatures notwithstanding, the characters constantly remove goggles and face masks, presumably so that we can identify them, but at the cost of the film's credibility.

Even with the constantly exposed facial skin, it's tough to keep the bundled-up characters straight.

The wives have little function beyond being our emotional avatars, reflecting the crushing concern and sense of loss that we should be feeling.

"Everest" also follows the Hollywood rules that 1) the "designated lovable mascot" must metaphorically buy the farm, and 2) a character running from something (or crossing a makeshift bridge) will always trip and almost fall at least once. (Even Indiana Jones tripped while running from that giant boulder.)

The best way to experience "Everest" would be on the supersized IMAX screen where Salvatore Totino's superb 3-D camera work dazzles us, disorients us and defines one of the world's most austere and dangerous landscapes, supporting the words of a climber - "It's the mountain that gets the last word."

“Everest”

★ ★ ½

Starring: Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin, John Hawkes, Jake Gyllenhaal, Robin Wright, Keira Knightley, Emily Watson

Directed by: Baltasar Kormákur

Other: A Universal Pictures release. Rated PG-13 for disturbing images. 121 minutes

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