I don’t climb mountains myself, but I’ve read ‘Into Thin Air’ by Jon Krakauer, that is the book ‘Everest’ is based on.

This adventure movie is in 3D, and, even though I am not the biggest fan of that format, it’s a perfect fit for this movie. Usually 3D is used to make something look better than it actually is, but here it was a good compliment to the riveting performances of the actors and the excellent camera work.

Over the course of more than two hours, I got sucked into the story of the 1996 disaster, when two amateur climbing groups got surprised by bad weather. Eight people died on the mountain.

Many scenes were shot on location on Mount Everest and Nepal, and that gives you a realistic feeling how it is to summit the biggest mountain on this planet.

This movie features an ensemble cast with Jason Clarke and Jake Gyllenhaal as the two tour guides; Josh Brolin, John Hawkes and Sam Worthington as some more or less experienced climbers; and Robin Wright and Keira Knightley as two wives who have to deal with the situation from home.

Directed by Baltasar Kormákur, the actors deliver amazing performances. Their motivation to take on all the roadblocks — above all the so-called death zone just below the summit — is clear and even without many words they are able to convince the viewer of their character’s goals.

My favorites were Brolin’s and Wright’s characters, who play a married couple from Texas. Robin Wright does a particularly great job by mastering her limited screen time.

Also, Jake Gyllenhaal shows why he is one of the most promising actors of our time. I wouldn’t be surprised to see some of them again at the Oscars next year.

The camera work and the special effects in Everest were outstanding as well. There are some beautiful panoramic shots and, especially in the beginning — beautiful tracking shots of the climbing groups filmed with drones and helicopters. The effects, including the 3D, were always subtle and contributed to the story, giving the viewer the feeling of being on the mountain and later in the storm and seeing everything through the eyes of the climbers.

The events were tragic, and some details will never be revealed, but the movie does really well in making this an experience for the viewer, without exploiting or romanticizing what happened. Also, since the movie is based on real events, the filmmakers did an awesome job to make the movie as realistic as possible, with only a few contributions to the viewer and shot in IMAX 3D even increases the level of authenticity.

I really liked this movie, and if you like to see an amazing, suspenseful, realistic and scenic adventure movie, you’ll be highly satisfied when the credits roll.

Everest, 2015, Universal Pictures, directed by Baltasar Kormákur, with Josh Brolin, Jason Clarke, Jake Gyllenhaal, Keira Knightley, Robin Wright, 121 minutes.