This is a dreadful film. It is bad in a way which almost blindsided me, rivaled this year only by The Circle and The Last Face. Particularly in its second hour, I became hyper-conscious of myself in the auditorium, desperate for the end credits and, by extension, escape. It is the English-language debut of Palestinian-born Dutch director Hany Abu-Assad, who previously made the gripping and topical terrorism-themed films Paradise Now and Omar. At the helm of this survival-yarn-cum-romantic-melodrama, he is, however, entirely lost. Imagine The Grey drained of any suspense or thematic heft and then heavily filtered through the worst, most anodyne and saccharine instincts of Nicholas Sparks. The survival side of the film is anemic; at times, one forgets the characters are even cold, and no situation is so dire it cannot include a cute moment with a dog or a gaze loaded with desire. Lip service is paid to impending death and the waning chance of rescue, but not one scene is visceral. The film's more prominent romantic side is painful, felled by a notably contrived opposites-attract dynamic (we are constantly reminded he is rigid and rule-minded while she is rebellious and bold) and the dearth of chemistry between Idris Elba and Kate Winslet, two attractive and talented people delivering oddly flat performances. It builds to a gushing final scene, a career low point for both stars; it a moment meant to evoke overwhelming romantic euphoria, but instead registers as profoundly embarrassing and unearned.

The Mountain Between Us

A deeply superficial romantic survival film with an atrocious script and horrible, vacant characters that you do not want to be locked in with for two hours. With the amount of panic and urgency they expend, you would think they had just had a power outage in New York City and have a fridge to raid, not a plane wreckage in the icy mountains of Idaho and are fighting for their lives. And the acting...oh, the acting. Let's just say "Dog" gave the best performance.

It is such a shame, too, because I really thought this was going to be good. I like Elba and Winslet, and I am always game for survival films. But it is a real disappointment.

D+

I honestly agree with all of the negative things you guys said. It's not a very good movie at all. It's actually pretty bad at times. But I was entertained enough so I'll give it a C+.

I didn't think this was that bad, but it's the definition of an average film. I liked the cinematography and Elba/Winslet have good chemistry, but its sort of a weak excuse for a survival/adventure film which is a genre I really enjoy.

C+

This could not be further from the truth, but I am glad that you and Mike didn't mind it so much.

Kate Winslet and Idris Elba have absolutely no chemistry whatsoever in this movie, to the point where it's almost comical. The movie is also boring and I agree it's shockingly low-stakes for a survival thriller. It's harmless and I've definitely seen worse this year but with these two actors the final product should have been much better. C

This is not a good film, the dialogue is just bad and the story of survival is never intensified by just average directing. But I liked the romance part. Can't say there was great chemistry here, but the bond created by the leads at the end was believable for me. I give it a pass.

C

Boring and surprisingly poorly acted with zero chemistry among the actors. The finale is so cringe worthy.

3/10