Pushing an already extreme activity even further beyond its limits, Ueli Steck and Dani Arnold have became the world champions of speed climbing—a variation of the sport that places much greater importance on direct competition over communing with nature. It's fascinating to hear what drives Steck and Arnold to courting death like this, and to see how their vastly different backgrounds and processes have still made them equals in the field. The documentary eventually runs out of ideas, however, as it clumsily shifts tones leading into its last third, and concludes abruptly without much synthesis of everything that had come before. It's still a worthwhile adventure whether or not one is into climbing; it's just disappointing that this story of such a unique rivalry settles into a more generic rhythm by the end.

The climbing footage in this film—which, to be fair, wasn't actually shot for the documentary but had already existed thanks to Steck's and Arnold's companions—is really just breathtaking stuff. While these scenes don't get as up-close and personal as the climbing sequences in 2018's Free Solo (perhaps the most high-profile movie about this sport), there's still a surreal quality to watching Steck and Arnold vanish into dots against the majesty of nature. It's scary, for sure, but seeing these human beings blur into the white is also strangely serene, the fear making way for something more comforting.