K2

Stars: Michael Biehn (The Terminator, Aliens, The Abyss), Matt Craven (Jacob's Ladder), Raymond J. Barry . It's hard to believe that this melodramatic piece of tripe was actually adapted from a Tony-award winning stage play (most of which was jettisoned for the film version). Action man Michael Biehn stars as self-centered attorney Taylor Brooks who goes mountaineering with family man physics professor Harold Jamison (Matt Craven)--each apparently serving as the other's alter ego. When they get a chance to join a major expedition to ascend the legendary K2 in Pakistan, Taylor leaps at the chance, and after a contrived tete a tete with wifey, Harold goes too. The headstrong Taylor doesn't get along with expedition planner Dallas, naturally, and so we're given piddling one-shots back and forth between some nice mountain-climbing footage (which is, not surprisingly, seriously diminished on the small screen). Beyond being utterly predictable (who's gonna fall? could it be the married guy that wears glasses and is named Harold?), the dialogue is ludicrous (Biehn's tortured cry: "I want some nobility, goddammit," is priceless.) The cinematography on the mountain is, as we said, often beautiful (although the same can be said for an AT&T commercial), but Franc Roddam's lackluster direction, the hackneyed scripting, and two-dimensional character development make K2 a trip better taken through a good documentary. Audience: The presence of Biehn will attract some, as well as the promise of a strong action/adventure film. But many will find this disappointing.