One of the most suspenseful movies I've ever seen, FREE SOLO is even more astounding in that's its a documentary.
Alex Honnold is an amazing free solo climber. His traditional feats are astonishing and well detailed in the opening hour of the film.
Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi are patient filmmakers. They get every shot through patience, timing and meticulous planning, very similar to the way Alex climbs.
They also do a nice job of detailing Alex in his quieter moments. To say that he's wired differently would be a subtle approach. He's a loner, socially awkward, occasionally depressed and truly fulfilled only during his climbing.
Watching Alex meet, date and grow close to his girlfriend is almost painful. But those climbs. WOW.
Alex literally has no reaction to fear. MRI's are done and we watch as docs marvel that he does not respond to fear the way humans normally do.
It's the only possible explanation for what he does in the last 30 minutes of the film, free solo climbing the sheer face of El Capitan.
No ropes, no hooks.
Just his hands, feet and meticulous planning.
The filmmakers cleverly employ simple animation and graphics to track his planned ascent, giving the viewer a great feel for where the biggest obstacles lie.
This is tense, edge-of-your-seat filmmaking as 4K drones and great long distance cameras track Alex up the mountain, swooping dangerously off cliffs to see him hanging thousands of feet off the ground.
It's fantastic.
I think Alex is part crazy, part inspired and 100% incredible. What he attempts here is one of the most astonishing feats in the history of personal sport.
His quest for personal perfection is inspiring.
Watch this on the biggest, highest def screen you can find and hang on to your furniture.
FREE SOLO gets a breathtaking A.
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