Rating: 
Summary: Vertical Action
Review: This is a good mix of mountain climbing, action, and drama. If you like movies like Cliffhanger, K2, and Eiger Sanction you will probably enjoy it. It is easy to judge people as not caring until you have to decide to cut people loose to keep more from dying on the side of a mountain. Good cast, great scenery, and good music.
Rating: 
Summary: A really big moutain and even bigger cliches
Review: If you combined "Twister" with "K2" or "Cliffhanger"... wait those movies were pretty much formulaic in themselves. This movie accomplishes at least one thing: it's a derivative of derivative movies...This movie has very little going for it except the beauty of nature itself. Even the beautiful actors (well-cast for the most part) can't save it because the dialogue is so laughably bad. Plot twists? If anything unexpected does happen it simply doesn't make any sense. Continuity problems abound as well as some serious ethnic and religious stereo-typing. If you want a better movie that captures loyalty and survival in the mountains, rent or buy "Alive" -- it's actually based on a true story. If you want cliches filmed at 10,000 feet, watch this disappointing flick. Not awful, but not memorable either.
Rating:
Summary: Could benefit from bonus features
Review: Vertical Limit was an outstanding film, featuring some of the best mountain climbing footage ever shot. The DVD SUPERBIT edition does a great job of presenting the film, with a DTS soundtrack and near-HD picture. The only problem with this edition of the film is that it does not have any bonus features. It could have benefited from a behind the scenes look or a special about K2. If you want to buy the movie for bonus features, get the original DVD release. If you want a version of the film with FAR superior picture and sound, get THIS one!
Rating: 
Summary: Mountain Climbing For Dummies
Review: Some movies are bad, and then there are others that would require a lobotomy to suspend disbelief, "Vertical Limit", is in the latter category. Even if you have never read a single sentence about mountaineering, this movie will insult your intelligence. This movie is about as close to accurate as the mountain they filmed on in New Zealand is to K2 in The Himalayas. Virtually everything that takes place once the story moves to, "K2", is absolutely absurd or literally impossible. These folks don't climb the mountain, they use helicopters to take them to starting points higher than any helicopter has ever been on a mountain in the Himalayas. There is no air to sustain life as you approach the summit, and there is also nothing for the rotors of a helicopter to bite in to for the craft to stay aloft. Climbers do not climb up K2, or mountains even less hazardous without fixed ropes, much less sashay up the mountain as they do in this film alone and without any form of anchor. Long before a climber reaches 22,000 feet, walking is a nightmare, no climber can run at a sprint, wearing crampons, and then leap across a gap, and then gracefully land on the opposite side by impaling rock with 2 ice axes. And if any of this sounds like a double digit IQ would be a stretch, these folks have nitroglycerine strapped to their backs, and this is where there is a bit or realism. Several of the geniuses get blown up, and this bit of carnage is believable. This whole film has absolutely nothing to do with climbing a steep hill in your local town much less the most deadly mountain on the planet. If you want to see a true ascent by world-class climbers, and the struggle that these world-class athletes try to overcome, watch the DVD that was done for IMAX about an Everest attempt. This movie would have been appropriate as a cartoon with the coyote bringing the explosives.
Rating:
Summary: Neat And Superbly Filmed Thriller!
Review: What a fabulous cinematic experience, both in terms of action and photography values! Yet this is an experience without a real story, with characters bumping into each other and the furniture, to twist Spencer Tracy's sage advice about what acting is all about. Chris O'Donnell's character is all over the place, brooding, remorseful, a somewhat milquetoast character who somehow seems to be quite sure of himself all at the same time. His sister, on the other hand, seems to suffer from some terrible form of terminal emotional constipation, yet she is supposedly acting out some emotional psycho-drama inspired in large part by her sainted dead father's memory. Bill Paxton plays a shady and insipid yuppie type character so shallow his teeth glow in the sunlight, and only Scott Glenn lends any kind of real and authentic acting credibility to this unlikely potboiler. All that said, it still represents a terrific way to spend some quality time gazing at the terrific landscapes, action sequences, and wonderful cinematography that the director continually throws our way, and the action sequences in particular are stunning and very realistic. While anyone familiar with climbing can spot a number of technical errors in both the storyline and the way the accidents and subsequent rescue attempts are depicted, there is a lot in the way this film was made to recommend it in terms of enjoyable movie entertainment. Especially noteworthy was the way the climbing sequences were filmed, which required a lot of technical expertise on the part of the actors, and lent itself well to telling the story through their actions and interactions. And while the plot was so trite and silly as to be laughable, you will find yourself absorbed by the sequence of events depicted and the suspense-filled and breathless pace at which events seem to transpire, crowding each other off the screen for the next sequence. Not a real mind-twister, but not abad way to wile away a rainy Sunday afternoon. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: deep sigh of resignation
Review: This is the only movie where I sat with my mouth agape during the entire show. The action was non-stop and kept you on the edge of your seat, but the absolute ignorance of many of the characters astounded me. The character's actions demonstrate how varied humanity is and proves that it is often illogic that drives us. This could be best seen in the reasons that the characters made the climb: power; ambition; adventure; revenge; money; honor; love; fear; righteousness; and despair. Perhaps the underlying theme of the movie was the power of a single event...how that one event can alter the path of not only one individual's life, but of history. It was not that the movie was bad, or the plot lacking, it was perhaps just too vivid a reminder that the forces that drive us can also be the forces that destroy us.
Rating:
Summary: Another Average Action Film
Review: You can practically hear the plot devices creaking behind Vertical Limit, an action thriller about a team of mountain climbers who attempt to scale something known as "K2." It's a typical paint-by-number, but it's not as bad as some of its colleagues and it does zoom through its obligatory plot points with gusto, and a kind of freshness. At times, it's almost a parody of itself; it could almost be called innocent. Everything happens as it is supposed to, and it's kind of sweet, in a way that the familiar can sometimes be comforting.
Rating: 
Summary: worth buying, but try the auction sales first...
Review: Yeah the storyline is hokey, yeah the whole Nitro bit is silly, but there is enough of a movie here that warrants watching, but don't buy it full price, save a few bucks and get it on auction, as I did. My only major complaint, there are too few scenes featuring Izabella Scorupco.
Rating:
Summary: Please! Mountain climbing?
Review: The characters were supposed to be among the best, yet they consistantly made minor, amateur mistakes. Plus, the constant bombardment of advertisement was sickening. If I saw how ridiculously inadequate the people in this movie were at climbing, I would not want my gear advertised, that's for sure. Come on, everytime they turn around, they are having a life-threatening experience...due to their own stupidity! Entertaining for a movie, but sickening in real life.
Rating:
Summary: Brings Out The Best In DVD
Review: The Superbit Collection brings out the best in DVD. Vertical Limit (Superbit) is no exception. I have been waiting for this film ever since the Superbit titles were first announced! The High Resolution picture is absolutely stunning. The surround sound is unlike anything heard before, much better than the original DVD release of the film, thanks to a wonderful DTS 6.1 soundtrack that is close to what was heard in the theater. While we are on the subject of the original release, the only thing the Superbit version lacks are bonus features. The behind the scenes look and K2 documentary of the original DVD are sorely missed here (why the film only got 4 stars). That being said, if you have a state of the art entertainment system, this state of the art DVD is for you.
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