Retired assassin and mountain climber Jonathan Hemlock (Clint Eastwood) is blackmailed into completing a final assignment - the only twist is that while the identity of his target is unknown, his employers know that this individual will be one of the members of a climbing party attempting a summit of the deadly Eiger mountain.
The Eiger Sanction sounds great on the surface - a thriller set on the side of a mountain starring Dirty Harry? Sign me up!
Watching The Eiger Sanction is frustrating. From the beginning, the filmmaking is obviously sloppy. Eastwood uses handheld camera for static pans and tilts, which come off awkward and somewhat rushed. The editing is reminiscent of Vorkapitch in that it expects the viewer to put together what is going on in the scene from ellipsis and juxtaposition. Unlike Vorkapitch, there is no deeper point here. It feels like the scenes that received the least care and attention were the non-climbing sequences.
The story is also unnecessarily complicated with multiple twists and extrapolations that drag out the story. And when the story finally reaches the mountain, we get another reveal that makes the final climb feel completely pointless.
Eastwood apparently thought the script was bad but believed the climbing sequences would save the movie. While they are well-photographed - and benefit from the star's willingness to do some of his own climbing - the story completely betrays these scenes.
George Kennedy, as Eastwood's friend and climbing buddy, brings a welcome dose of energy and personality. But this is a small consolation.
The Eiger Sanction could have been a nail-biter. Instead it is a sleep-cure.
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