While the breathtaking, pulse inducing imagery of nature at its most colossal will draw many to Everest, it is the heartbreaking drama of its true life tragedy that will be remembered after the credits role.

Disaster movies almost always draw great acting talent who are used more for marketing purposes as opposed to, say, their acting prowess (then again poor scripts tend to do that). Everest bucks that trend.

Based on the real life tragedy of the 1996 Mount Everest Disaster where 8 climbers lost their lives, this Baltasar Kormakur directed film delivers on its promise of big spectacle and nail biting thrills, yet it’s the story of those climbing the giant beast of a mountain where the films true strength lies, as a cracking cast deliver solid work that will leave a lump in the throat and tear in the eye.

Leading the charge is Jason Clarke who portrays Rob Hall, New Zealand climber and co-founder of Adventure Consultants, an adventure company that offers guided climbs to the summit of Mount Everest. Their success led to numerous rival companies that resulted into a record number of climbers in 1996.

Along with his dedicated team (portrayed by the likes of Emily Watson, Sam Worthington, and Martin Henderson), Hall teams up with rival expedition leader Scott Fisher (Jake Gyllenhaal) to take their clients (Josh Brolin, John Hawkes, Michael Kelly amongst others) up to the summit before severe weather hits. Considering this is a disaster movie based on a real life tragedy, it shouldn’t come to a surprise that there is no happy ending.

In spite of its historical facts, Everest still stands as quite the effective and nail biting large scale thriller. Kormakur, cinematographer Salvatore Totino, and a talented production team do a great job in creating that awe-inspiring scale needed to establish the stakes at play, the combination of on location filming (including shoots on Mount Everest basecamp and Val Senales, Italy), on set magic at Pinewood Studios, and the seamless use of CGI and greenscreen.

The decision to cast strong character actors pays off wonderfully in adding a strong sense of realism. Jason Clarke brings a down to earth sensitivity, Josh Brolin a cocksure gruffness, Emily Watson a display of excellent reactions as tragic news trickles down to basecamp, and Keira Knightley is especially strong as Hall’s pregnant wife left devastated at her husband’s plight.

Scripted by award winning veterans Simon Beaufoy (127 Hours) and William Nicholson (Gladiator), there is much to like and feel moved by in Everest. Many will come for the mountain, but leave with their hearts and minds on those who perished on it.