If this film would have climbed a littlebit farther, this would be an Oscar-quality movie.

“Everest,” directed by Baltasar Kormakur and starring Jason Clarke and Josh Brolin, is an engaging, emotionally touching, popcorn disaster movie.

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The cast of this film, should have made it more. Clarke, Brolin, John Hawkes and Jake Gyllenhaal are some of the amazing cast members in this film. This is a rare instance of every actor being bigger named and extremely talented.

It wants to be a “Apollo 13” level of an ensemble movie, but never reaches it.

A major problem is with the direction of the film and presentation of the mountain. There are scenes where Mount Everest isterrifying and awe-inspiring, but for the most part the film never captures a true terror.

“Everest” should be as spine-chillingas “Gravity” was. Both are situations virtually indescribable to anyone who has not lived through it. 

However, this film is more like a slideshow of Mount Everest and the destruction it can cause.

The acting succeeds in this movie. Nothing is stronger in this disaster bio-pic than this cast. They keep you engaged, even when other parts  of the film fails to.

A big example of this is the ability of Sam Worthington to break out of his shell. Worthington usually comes off as stiff. He pulls off what would normally be considered career-defining performances.

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The movie also knows how to emotionally grab you without being manipulative, something many tearjerkers struggle with.

At a certain point, death seems likely and inevitable in this film. Sometimes it just happens and sometimes characters are allowed to be devastated. The ability to have both rises this film above many cliché ridden disaster movies.

Stars: 4 out of 5

Jacob Pierce can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @JacobPierce1_DE.