As you might expect from Weir (especially when making a film sponsored by National Geographic) the film looks gorgeous as the cast traverse through some gorgeous locations (even if they aren't all what they claim to be - Bulgaria standing in for Siberia and Morocco for the Gobi desert). Its also well acted on whole - Jim Sturgess makes a watchable lead (a Polish officer trying to get back to his wife), Colin Farrel has the most fun as a Russian criminal and Ed Harris shines as the slightly mysterious Mr Smith.
However, despite that it remains a curiously unsatisfying film at times. What incident there is in the journey either happens off screen (the actual escape, crossing the guarded railway line) or is rushed through so quickly (an encounter with Mongolian horsemen, crossing a frozen river) that it actually loses much impact. Curiously this doesn't lead to a greater depth of characterisation either - most of the party are left as a one line character description (cooks and draws pictures, etc...) rather than fully fleshed characters. Mark Strong's character is possibly one of the most interesting, but departs the film relatively early. So its left to Sturgess and Harris to carry the film, but even then its only in the latter stages of the journey that we actually get any sense of depth to either man or the relationship between them.
Overall - 6.5/10 A solid piece of film-making, but given the talent involved you can't help feeling that it should be better than it is
* Since the book's publication many have cast doubt on its authenticity and BBC research into Russian records would indicate it to be untrue. However, there is evidence from a British officer in India who remembered interviewing three emaciated men who had crossed the Himalayas and claimed to have escaped from a Siberian gulag. We'll probably never know for sure.
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