A group of Canadian mountaineers faces the unforgiving elements and nearly insurmountable hardships as they attempt to scale Mount Everest to fulfill the dream of climber John Laughlin (Jason Priestley) after he loses his life in a solo expedition. Journalist Norman Kelly (William Shatner) documents their struggles in this gripping miniseries based on real events. Eric Johnson and Gord Rand also star.

must note for those that are interested in this solely because of either Jason Priestly or William Shatner that they have pretty small roles, but the acting by the main actors is still quite good so that was not an issue for me. Based upon true events, Everest (Everest '82 in Canada) begins in 1982 when a group of friends decide to ascend Mount Everest in memory of their deceased friend who died climbing a mountain. The first portion of this made-for-TV film was carefree until they encounter their first avalanche, which really gets the movie going. What I liked best about this was their reasons for climbing and the metaphor of their ascension up Everest: everything seemed to be a struggle, from nature and the weather to their sponsors wanting them to call it quits and even to their inner-group conflict. Though the story becomes quite predictable at some point (but what aren't?) it was nevertheless thrilling, awe-inspiring, and good. Graeme Campbell made an average directing effort, but what more can you ask in a made-for-TV film. It was a feel good film about rising up and beating the odds. I deem it worth renting. 07/23/09