Movie Review: The Climb

By Donald James Parker   

Afraid of heights?  Don't feel like the Lone Ranger.  I'm just grateful I'm a man and don't have to wear high heels and challenge my acrophobia in order to be fashionable.  So, why would I buy a movie about mountain climbing?   I was looking for Christian entertainment to share with all of you good folks, so since this was produced by Billy Graham's organization, I figured it must be an evangelical extravaganza.  I plopped down the hard-earned cash to check it out.  There was another movie that I was really jazzed to watch but, it hadn't arrived yet.  This one sat patiently awaiting my attention on the couch for several weeks.  The need to provide a review for TCP pushed me to step away from my computer without any police intervention and sit down in front of the TV for an hour and a half to get indoctrinated into the world of alpining.   I was glad I did.

Dabney Coleman is the big name star in this production, but he was not the lead actor.  If ever I saw a flick where one actor brought a movie to life, this was it.  Jason George plays a young, black mountaineer with an attitude as big as the mountain in the Andes that he dreams of summiting.  I didn't recognize him, but it turns out I had seen him in a fairly big movie called Barbershop, which my step-son lured me into watching.  This guy exuded energy, confidence, and arrogance.  His co-lead, a very soft and slow speaking white climber, who had his emotional moments in defending what he believed in, was played by Ned Vaughn.  Derrick, the flashy guy is all about himself and believes in taking things to the edge, literally.  He gets drafted into partnering up with Michael, who is slow, methodical, and safety-conscious on the slopes and in life. Talk about your incompatibilities!  The fireworks fly as a result of their conflicting styles and world views.  Michael is a believer.  Derrick doesn't need anyone, including God.

Lots of movies that have good action have inane (what I call cotton-candy – you might use the term boring) dialogue.  Others have wonderful dialogue but a dearth of action, a situation which could cause a viewer to think about having the oil changed in the car or getting a manicure before the end of the movie.  This one combined both (action and dialogue not oil change and manicure) very nicely.  The ingredient that makes a movie gripping is conflict and the tension that accompanies it.  Christian movies often lack a skillful application of that requisite seasoning.  We as Christians are supposed to avoid conflict with other people, thus making stories about Christians a little harder to make exciting. How boring is a guy who seeks peace?  However, we have a very powerful enemy in Satan, and the war we must fight daily with our own physical nature provides built-in conflict.  In this movie, we have plenty of adversarial moments because Derrick is not a believer (and thus can be a jerk without us being uncomfortable).  And Michael gets to display some righteous indignation.

In closing (I'll bet you've heard the pastor say that one a thousand times before he wandered off on another tangent),  let me quote some of the hype printed on the DVD case.  "From heart-stopping to heartwarming – and back.  Exciting, inspiring, and entertaining."  Now, this is why I go to movies.

The Climb is an adventure experience you won't soon forget.
In this case, the hype is warranted. Ironically, my long-anticipated movie arrived the next day, and I watched it immediately.  It didn't match up to this one.   I will be looking for more Billy Graham movies, hoping they're as good as this.  As touched as I was by the movie, I'm not about to sign up soon to conquer Mount Everest, but I have developed an appreciation and understanding for the sport.  In actuality, I think it would be extremely cool (not to mention cold) to sit on top of a mountain and look down at everything in the distance.  In my case, I'll wait until Heaven when my acrophobia is just a distant memory.  

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