Jake Gyllenhaal’sgripping disaster dramaEveresthas officially made its way to Peacock, giving audiences the chance to relive the harrowing true story of one of the most infamous tragedies in mountaineering history.Directed byBaltasar Kormákur, the film boasts a star-studded ensemble cast, including Gyllenhaal,Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin, Keira Knightley, andRobin Wright, and is a painful, harrowing portrayal of the disaster on the slopes of Mount Everest in 1996.
The film recounts the events of two commercial expeditions to the top of Everest that met tragedy when a devastating blizzard blew in, trapping many at the top of the world.The climbers were faced with near-impossible oddsas they struggle to survive against nature’s most unforgiving elements, and the film explores the resilience of those who made it, and the tragic cost of chasing your dreams. Gyllenhaal stars asScott Fischer, one of the experienced expedition leaders guiding climbers to the summit, while Clarke delivers a heart-wrenching performance asRob Hall, a seasoned climber, and Brolin playsBeck Weathers, whose miraculous survival story is one of the most stunning in history.
Is ‘Everest’ Worth Seeing?
Well, 73% of critics on Rotten Tomatoes gave the movie a thumbs up, butCollider’s reviewof the blu-ray wasn’t too hot, although some years later perhaps we can say that this review might seem a bit harsh.
Climbing Mount Everest became something of a tourist attraction as some climbers figured out how they could get experienced but not master hikers up and down the peak more effectively than ever. Rob Hall (Jason Clarke) is the leader of one of these tours, and Scott Fischer (Jake Gyllenhaal) leads another. Hall has a pregnant wife (Keira Knightley) and seems the more sensible of the two. They get a bunch of these tourists (includingJohn HawkesandJosh Brolin) together, only for tragedy to befall many of those who tried.
The perilous journey is one that cinematically – if it can’t give that same sense of doing the impossible - is about heights (it is a 3D movie) and watching people die. That can be fun in the disaster movie context, but this is based on a true story, so who lives and dies is less schematically enjoyable. There is tragedy to this, and it’s easy to see how this could have been a modern version ofTitanic, or something like that, but it’s hard for me to care about mostly rich people who did something dangerous that killed them.
Everestis streaming now on Peacock. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates on your favorite movies and where they’re streaming.
On July 26, 2025, mountain guides Rob Hall and Scott Fischer combine their expedition teams for a final ascent to the summit of Mount Everest. With little warning, a storm strikes the mountain and the climbers must now battle to survive.
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