Excellent but underrated film

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

It is not only a funny movie, but it allows a great amount of joy for anyone who watches it.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

I direct you to the plethora of reviews that point out the hilarity of the script, plot lines, acting, and stunts, the absolute impossibility of the political implications, horrible technicals in climbing (gear clothing, physical fitness, NO Sherpas, the EMP, ad infinitum) ALL add up to a totally ridiculous jaunt up a mountain chasing a glow in the dark Rubik's cube upon which the fate of the world rests.All that being said NUMEROUS times, there is some magnificent footage of the mountains, avalanches, breathtaking, sweeping vistas that will either excite you, kick your death wish sporting sense into overdrive, make you wonder how on God's 3rd rock from the sun ANYONE considers mountaineering FUN BUT will across the board make you feel small and leave you awe struck.If you go into this with a coupla joints, a bucket of salty buttery popcorn, a Big Gulp and absolutely nothing else to do on a cold rainy day you will not feel like you've been robbed of 90 minutes of your life -- It is what it is - a piece of straight to DVD B grade fluff made to entertain, not educate you on WMDs, mountain climbing, global political relations, or American clichés (and there are 85 minutes of clichés) - if you are looking for American Oscar worthy films, BAFTA contenders or even Golden Globe potential -- MOVE ON. if you like a train wreck of a film that will, if nothing else, entertain you - it's worth a watch... and ladies, you gotta admit the guys are HOT.....

It's wrong on so many levels.Cheap filmwork and ripped noff scenes from other movies, you can spot the plots from miles away.Technically pathetic from a climbing point of view, amateur climbers have better kit and dress sense than these 'pros'. As a large bloke that does some ice climbing I can tell you there are very few big chaps climbing at this level, most are racing snakes.The baddies in supposed winter assault gear have white suits black utility belts and black leather gloves - frostbite and visibly duh.EMP just makes things stop working it doesn't make things spark, and sparks don't come in different colours!Love the bit where the inept gunman is restrained and after a cheesy one liner the lead walks out into the road carrying an automatic weapon but the Police cruiser just lets him go by!The Major with dark aviator sunglasses made me think of the 80s or an Airplane spoof movie.The device was on 'full auto-retaliate' pmsl. Let me see, when the plane was shot down the cube armed with 72 hours on the clock....then someone told the military, they hunted down the lead, lets say a couple of hours passed, then he phones a guy climbing in the rockies and tells him to get the plane to Washington DC in the morning. Lets say thats at least 20 hour including flight time.....they have a briefing and then fly to Pakistan, get in a chopper and only 22 hours has passed.....I will return to this later.The lead also manages a lot of beard growth during the flight yet no one else does.Notice the chopper changes from Pakistan army brown to white when they get offWe climbed Everest in 16.5 hours and without oxygen - c'mon that's treating us like muppets ( I do like the real muppets fyi)Random selection of ice axes, and yep, he slides on his back ignoring all basic winter climbing techniques. You go on your front and push down on the point laying your body across the shaft. If his crampons had caught he would have somersaulted not forgetting his already dislocated arm.Oh 4 more hours gone, standing in a white out without face covering and jackets unzipped at the neck.....sorry why was he crawling up a marginal incline with an ice axe on his belly? Mysteriously appearing harnesses, yep the rope is blue but switches to red and back and forth. It has already been pointed out that the crampons disappeared and the doctor diagnoses internal damage through his gear. Loads of people without hats, and YES you do leave them to die if you have to. Love the way they all disperse in different directions even though the path isn't checked and someone just fell down a hidden crevasse.2 hours into night time allegedly, shot of some tents, two Russians standing up in a massive tent, also soundproofed. By my calcs they have another 8 hours of darkness leaving them 3 hours. More standy up size tents. Conversation outside, no wind, unzipped jackets, and vertical snowflake or two.Not bad someone launched a missile and it took about 20 seconds to get into space.Morning, the injured climber who has been drifting in and out of consciousness wakes up fresh as a daisy and moves around without a wince. Total lack of any protection on the lips, and no noticeable increase in stubble.They set off without crampons at a casual stroll and no ice axes! Climbimg shots with goggles off, helmets appear and disappear along with changing kit.The Major gets on a cellphone to talk to the president but seems to use a sat-phone at other times.OMG a baddie appears in black with no gear save an ice axe - his trousers do change colour, and he ain't wearing climbing boots.his jacket also changes from black to dark navy budget nylon special.Why are the two climbers in the tent sitting down wearing their rucksacks when one of them is expecting to be airlifted to hospital?Some wearing harnesses some not, and casually strolling up the spur, and not roped together. Don't see any loops on the axes either. Lead woman's goggles have shrunk, and they aren't wearing crampons again.Lol quick search for magic cube which is perched on a rock and hadn't been blown off over the last 2+ days. It happens to be across a gap, and as if by magic a bloody great launcher and a whole load of tackle appears to make a 'bridge'. The other end is anchored into snow with invisible screws I assume. If you look behind them the line extends beyond view in both directions.The Major in the next scene looks like he is wearing a janitors coat with some ribbons stuck on it.Accident, somehow the lead lady who cant climb up a rope wearing gear manages to unhook herself and climb over the point man who then gives up clinging on after 3 mins and falls to his death. Why didn't he grab the rope....because it disappears from under his nose literally.Tried to spot the barrel of the gun but failed, and the base jumping scene with a hidden parachute is priceless.This film should be watched by all prospective film students as a 'how not to' make a film. Not sure how many mistakes in this review but I have spent too much of my life which I will never get back watching it already. Hopefully some of my comments will help you enjoy the film.Things I did like, some Lowe Alpine and Mountain Hardwear kit which is good gear are the stars.

An unashamed Z-grade mountaineering flick, directed by a man (Jim Wynorski, hiding under a pseudonym) better known for making trashy T 'n' A movies and with a storyline that's more than happy to rip off VERTICAL LIMIT. If you like watching overly familiar, silly movies loaded with stock footage, awful plotting and some outrageously poor effects, you've come to the right place.Things begin with a supposedly dramatic sequence set atop a sheer cliff. It soon turns out that this is a direct rip-off of CLIFFHANGER's famous opening scene. From here on in, we get a silly, half-baked storyline involving a futuristic satellite weapon that looks like nothing more than a cheap Rubik's cube. There are some outer space shots that look awfully familiar to the ones in UNDER SIEGE 2, and a squad of Russian terrorists whose tendency toward self-destruction makes them some of the dumbest ever shown on screen.Eventually, the plot gets around to sending a bunch of would-be heroics up an impassable mountain in Tibet in a race against time (yawn). No surprises that there are some more dastardly betrayals, some dodgy Russians and a token black guy whose only purpose is to get bumped off ASAP. The high-rise heroics make use of plenty of sub-par CGI and characters don't bat an eyelid when long-time friends are decimated by stock-footage avalanches.Of the cast, lead Costas Mandylor is the most familiar from his appearances in seemingly dozens of SAW sequels. He's supported by Linden Ashby (who was a one-time action hero in the likes of MORTAL KOMBAT, although his acting hasn't improved since then), and the pretty but vacuous Nia Peeples. Aside from some low-rent machine-gun action, there's not much going on here, leaving this a Z-movie to be endured rather than enjoyed. Still, there's far worse out there even if this is below average by genre standards, although that's not a recommendation.

SPOILERS: IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW THE PLOT OF THIS GOD AWFUL FILM THEN DON'T READ.After September 11; Nato sanctioned the secret launch of EMP Laser satellites designed to be used as a weapon (forgot the purpose) but they've malfunctioned and in a short (but unknown cause I'm forgotten) period of time they're all going to go off which will cause the destruction of every electrical device on the planet and sent the world back to the stone age. They can't shoot down the satellites cause they're designed to EMP anything that enters a mile of its orbit. So the only way to stop it is by turning it off at the 'Cube' on K2.Obviously there's terrorists (Russian Terrorsits :O) dodgy Russian's, one of the climbing team has mysteriously been killed so the leader has asked his old climbing friend to join them who is now a monk after him and the leader lost a friend on a climb.It's lame, it's crap but if its on TV beats watching some other crap with adverts every 5 minutes (if in America) or if you come home from 6th Form to find there is nothing on you haven't already seen at least 17 times and your only hope is, I kneel and pray, crap TV Movies on the Sci Fi Channel.