The Summit of the Gods

As the tallest mountain in the world, there are more movies about Everest than any other mountain in existence. A good chunk of these movies are documentaries, and even the "Hollywood" movies are about actual events (like Everest (2015)). From my own experiences climbing mountains, there comes a point where movies about mountain climbers end up all looking the same...especially when the mountain they're climbing is the same. Fortunately, The Summit of the Gods (2021) takes a novel approach to this repetitive type of story: by using animation. Based on the manga of the same name, The Summit of the Gods has a story to tell that's much more interesting than the adrenaline junkies who feature in other mountain climbing movies like Meru (2015). Sure, there's still the link to actual people and events, but The Summit of the Gods uses animation to its advantage to tell a story that can be difficult to tell in live-action form (and yes, I realize there was a 2016 live-action adaptation of the manga). There are certain aspects of extreme mountaineering that this version of The Summit of the Gods conveys better than any other mountaineering movie I've seen. In the end, this film shares the same focus on the main character's obsession that other mountaineering movies use as their premise. However, the fact the obsession isn't about climbing the tallest mountain in the world makes it much more human and less about bragging rights. Seeking truth and being obsessed with uncovering what really happened on this deadly mountain almost a century ago. There's also humility in the realization of these climbers that have bonded with the mountain and how they have dealt with the deadly realities of this pursuit of the highest altitude. An amazing animated story of Everest that has more heart than most mountaineering films, I give The Summit of the Gods 4.5 stars out of 5.