Director: Franc Roddam Starring: Michael Biehn, Matt Craven, Raymond J. Barry, Luca Bercovici, Patricia Charbonneau Certificate: 15 (UK), R (USA)
"Between the earth and the sky lies the sheer face of adventure."
Plot
Best friends Taylor Brooks and Harold "H" Jameson are avid mountain climbers who find themselves joining billionaire Phillip Claiborne on his next climbing expedition, attempting to climb the 2nd highest and most deadly mountain in the world: K2.
SPOILERS AHEAD...
Remember when you were growing up and all you dreamed about was climbing a massive, cold, deadly mountain? No me neither...
The early 1990s appeared to be a crucial time in Michael Biehn's career and the attempts to establish him as a leading man. Navy Seals made a little money at the box office but had not been a critical success. Timebomb simply hadn't lived up to its potential and so along came K2 to try and prove those leading man credentials once and for all.
I recall K2 having a big press push here in the UK with Michael even appearing on the late great Terry Wogan's chat show. This was quite possibly the first time I became aware of his existence before seeing The Terminator. That said, whilst I was attempting to binge Michael movies back in the day, I avoided this one for quite some time. Maybe it was the name that put me off, I didn't really understand what K2 was and once I found out it was about a mountain and the white stuff (snow, not cocaine) I wasn't really all that more enthused. The clips I'd seen had also shown Michael playing a character who came across as an insufferable prick and who probably would be more at home with the other white stuff (cocaine not snow). What I did find after finally watching K2 was that it's probably Michael's best movie outside of his big 5 (you know the ones I mean) and a movie that should have had a much bigger impact on both the box office and his career.
K2 tells the story of 2 best friends with very different personalities bought together by their love of mountain climbing. Taylor (Biehn) is a cocky, confident womaniser whilst Harold known as "H" (Matt Craven) is a quiet, unassuming scientist. After a chance encounter with fellow climber Phillip Claiborne (Raymond J. Barry) and following the death of two of his expedition team, Taylor manages to convince his way onto Claiborne's team along with H for an upcoming attempt to climb K2. H finds himself choosing between maintaining his quiet family life and placating his wife or living out his dreams. It's ok though, because bully boy Taylor makes sure H chooses the cold, deadly mountain over his family and young child!
Upon starting the expedition, Taylor proceeds to upset pretty much everyone, he clashes with the locals, completely disregarding their culture and upsets the expedition team by implying that he is the best climber and insisting that things should be done his way; it's often left to H to placate angry flare-ups. Despite Taylor being the protagonist of the movie, it's not always comfortable to sit there and cheer him on trust me!
Once you get past the initial mountain climbing plot set up, K2 is predominantly a character study. Yes, Michael's character Taylor is most definitely the archetype of early 90s yuppie lava I mentioned earlier, but we get to explore the dynamics of his relationship with H and watch his gradual character redemption as he faces choices that literally are life and death. It's not always done with subtlety but it's believable and that's down to the performances from both Michael and Matt Craven. The final 45 minutes is almost exclusively just the 2 actors it's also when I found myself completely absorbed and lost in the movie, wanting to watch these two characters beat the odds and survive.
The cinematography is stunning. The overhead shots really emphasise the scale of the challenge to those of us who would rather sit indoors with a hot cup of coffee than be on top of a mountain. I've read lots of comments that say this is one of the more realistic fictional depictions of a climb of this kind, as I say, I have no idea. I'll stick to walking up hills.
The only downer I have is the ending is a little rushed. After spending time rooting for these two characters, not seeing what happens next was disappointing. I'd have really enjoyed a final scene back in the real world just to see how the characters reintegrate themselves, whether they've changed and how their friendship has been affected. It would have also rounded off the redemption arc nicely to know that Taylor did actually change for the better and not just immediately go back to being a dick.
Michael Biehn here really is at his prettiest; he looks like he just stepped off some kind of perfect human creation production line even when having to model a selection of terrible early 90s climbing fashion. It's also nice to see him without a gun and not playing the obvious hero or the antagonistic baddie; why this wasn't the movie that propelled him to the A list is a mystery to me. Sadly, it seems that people just didn't go and watch K2. According to IMDB, the movie made just over $3,100,000 at the box office and will now always be a forgotten gem.
Conclusion
I think K2 is an excellent film. I know it doesn't seem to be popular with the critics but it's tense, it's well-acted, it's got a decent storyline and it looks incredible on Blu-Ray. Michael Biehn knows how to play a womaniser well (I wonder why...) and Matt Craven makes a likeable sidekick. Perhaps Taylor was just too insufferable at the start for people to root for him, but stick with it, enjoy the character development and you'll find yourself watching an entertaining and engrossing movie.
K2 is available to purchase on DVD and Blu-Ray and can be rented for streaming on Amazon Prime Video and iTunes (US only).
IMDB: 6.2/10 Rotten Tomatoes: Critics = 29%, Audience = 49% (As of October 2021)
Dies? / Villain?
ALIVE! That helicopter arrives just in time. / He's not an intentional villain but he is a jerk.
What Does Michael Say?
"K2 was an interesting movie for me to do, because I’m just terrified of heights...So any time you saw someone hanging off the side of the mountain, that wasn’t me! I was the guy that was crawling on the ground, and then the camera man would get down there and turn the camera sideways and then roll around, and I’d be pulling and reaching, when we’re basically just shooting it from the side!" Den of Geek August 2011
What Did This Movie Teach Me?
Mountains are cold - I don't want to climb one.
Mountain climbing clothing ain't fashionable.
Men look better with a little bit of facial hair.
This is not a prequel to K9. K-19 is not a sequel.
Anything Else?
This movie is based on a 1982 stage play of the same name. The play features only Taylor and Harold whilst they're trapped at 27,000 thousand feet. The play's writer Patrick Meyers also wrote the screenplay for the movie.
There are two versions of K2. The British version features a soundtrack from Hans Zimmer and is 7 minutes longer at 1 hour 51 minutes. The US version has an electric guitar soundtrack from Chaz Jankel. Personally, I'm a bigger fan of the British version (more Biehn) but whatever floats your boat I guess.
The second of three movies in which Michael Biehn and Matt Craven co-star. Previously seen together in Hog Wild, they would later appear in Crash.
Michael Biehn previously worked with director Franc Roddam on The Lords of Discipline.
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