From left, Jake Gyllenhaal as Scott Fischer, Michael Kelly as Jon Krakauer and Josh Brolin as Beck Weathers star in the film “Everest,” which debuted in IMAX/3D exclusively on Friday.

“Everest” is not an easy movie to watch. No entertainment that contains such tragedy should be.

The truly breathtaking spectacle and technical achievements can make you feel like you too are on a vertical slope at 29,000 feet. But this awe-inspiring movie is also one that's laced with dread, little triumph and even less perspective as you wait, with a knotted stomach, for the disasters to manifest.

“Everest” recounts the events of, and leading up to, May 10, 1996, when a series of controversial decisions and a heap of bad luck led to the deaths of 8 climbers.

However, it is not based on the most famous account, journalist Jon Krakauer's book “Into Thin Air.” It's an amalgamation of stories, reports and never-before-heard tapes from the day, focused mostly though on Adventure Consultants lead Rob Hall (Jason Clarke), and Texan climber Beck Weathers (Josh Brolin).

Krakauer is a character in “Everest,” (Michael Kelly), but a peripheral, underdeveloped one. His presence as a journalist covering the expedition frames the growing tension between customer service and safety inherent in the commercialization of adventure.

When a handful of climbers make it to the peak, it's harder to feel their euphoria. All we can see is looming death.

That's part of the problem of “Everest.” All the elements are there, but the emotions never land — even with the inclusion of previously private conversation between Rob Hall and his pregnant wife Jan (Keira Knightley).

The large ensemble cast is packed with recognizable faces — Clarke, Brolin, John Hawkes, Jake Gyllenhaal, Emily Watson, Knightley, Sam Worthington, and on and on. It can be distracting, but perhaps it is the only way to truly orient an audience with who's who.

Icelandic director Baltasar Kormákur wrangles the story, characters, and beastly natural setting as best as he can. The film trots along briskly. There is some levity, too, thanks to Gyllenhaal's earthy expedition leader Scott Fischer.

The scenes on the mountain are truly outstanding, and the 3-D is atmospheric, not gimmicky. A brief, thrilling scene with a helicopter is worth the price of admission alone.

The grandiosity of the mountain, though, is juxtaposed with Kormákur's odd choice to shoot many of the character scenes in extreme close-up. Unless you're in the ideal center in an IMAX theater, the effect can be claustrophobic.

Fictionalized accounts of real tragedy are not impenetrable. James Cameron made us feel for a ship full of characters we'd never met. “Everest” can't break that seal, and it's a handicap.

“Everest” is a good movie, but it could have been a great one.