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DVD The Ascent
 Rating: 3.5 Genres: Action | Drama | Thriller Director: Steven James Creazzo Writers: Steven James Creazzo Stars: Josie Davis, William McNamara, Martin Kove |
| Storyline Mountain guide, Emily Wilks, is forced to lead a group of men up the perilous Devil’s Peak. But leading the group up Devil’s Peak is just a stalling tactic until Emily reveals her own dark secret. |
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| Plot Keywords: first part | |
| Details: Country: USA Release Date: 2010 (USA) |
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| Box Office Budget: $1,500,000 (estimated) |
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4 comments
Some mild spoilers.
I caught the last half of this on TV last night, and seeing there wasn't a single review here on IMDb, thought I would scribble a few words.
Well I can't believe this was actually released – the acting is poor & hammy, the dialogue stilted and the 'action' scenes completely unbelievable.
With such an obvious small budget, the director has been too adventurous – far better to have concentrated on character dialogue rather than such poor 'adventure' scenes. With TV shows such as '24' and 'Dexter' managing to be fun & exciting, as well as reasonably realistic, there really doesn't seem to be a place for this type of movie any more.
– Cave scene – the interior is obviously fake cement 'rock' and there are no wide shots at all.
– 2 characters fall over a cliff, and are then shown hanging by their fingertips, somehow *beneath* an overhang, on an obvious climbing-wall !
– 1 character gets stabbed in the stomach, apparently so badly that his bandages get blood-soaked every few minutes, but he hardly experiences any pain and is able to carry on OK, albeit with a limp !
– Some characters are killed, and there is no emotion or tension at all in the survivors.
– After trekking & struggling across some quite rugged terrain, there is suddenly a path with a guide rail !
1/10, with a bonus point for "so bad, it's good".
I watched this late one night while staying at a hotel in Vientiane, Laos. Needless to say, there wasn't much else on to watch. It played on Star Movies – a Fox movie network and a subsidiary of News Corporation.
I have to say I do indeed have a lot of respect for independent writer-director-producers of film (the budget was approx. $1.5M), but this movie just doesn't work. It says in the 'Fun Facts' that this movie was to be shot in Alaska. However, it was shot near Austin, Texas – and suffers as a result as the mountains shown on screen don't match the ferocity in which the characters speak and act around them, at times laughably so. Hence, the movie would've been better if the setting at least matched the story – or brought a twink of an eyebrow at least.
What follows is quite a trite plot, notwithstanding the problems with the setting. It centers around Emily (Josie Davis), a mountain-climber guide, and her emotional struggles a year after her fiancé's unfortunate early demise. As it happens, she is meant to take a crew of people up a deadly mountain on the one-year anniversary of her fiancé's death. Surprise! They are the naughty outlaws that are responsible for his death. While climbing the mountain (hiking is more like it – there would be no possible need for a guide), they take her hostage and force her to take them to some gold that she and her fiancé had previously found. What follows is at best an illogical and clichéd-to-the-max story – filled with flat and uninspired over-acting and dopey dialogue. It is one of those movies that is so bad, it's fun to watch and laugh at. However, on this budget, I think they did somewhat of a good job.
Ergo, I give it a more-than-fair three stars.
What a difference the DIRECTOR'S CUT makes…
Attended a private screening for this film, of which, I had no idea about, called THE ASCENT. All I knew was that it was an indie-action flick, and my friend, who is in the business, dragged me to this screening… And wow was I blown away.
Really good story. Strong, solid performances, especially the lead actress, JOSIE DAVIS. And the two elements that impressed me the most – the slow-burn and the "real" twist ending.
"THE ASCENT" (director's cut) really has a great intense build up to a great twist ending, that I never anticipated. I was so impressed how the director allowed the film, and the story, evolve at a very natural, and unforced pace.
After the screening, there was a Q&A. And that's when I learned all about the "OTHER VERSION" of the film that was put out briefly by REGENT ENTERTAINMENT… Be aware, if you have seen the REGENT VERSION of "THE ASCENT" then you have not even come close to seeing the REAL VERSION, by the director Steven James Creazzo, of "THE ASCENT."
I hope someone releases that version of "THE ASCENT" someday.
This movie is too bad to have been released to view on television.
Yes, the acting is bad. What else is bad? The directing in ALL aspects of the film, set design – fake looks fake, editing….they should not have let this film out of the can.
My biggest peeve is the lead female, Josie Davies (a TV movie actress), however her body double is in extraordinary shape, especially the arms. So, it is poor decision making to not have Josie workout her arms while actually training on a mountain climbing wall.
It is very sad when actors and actresses take on a project, for whatever their reason, to only hear how bad it is. Flops happen.
This may have been a block bluster had only the script was passed on to someone who know what they are doing while blindfolded and hands tied behind their backs.
Be warned. This is not a must see.