American Climbers Captured by Islamic Rebels

I'm sure they would all have slightly different accounts based on their experiences, but to lie about events to make the story more cool or marketable is a stupid accusation.

John Bouchard is an honest guy, I trust him.
He's just unable to prove exactly what happened.

Lots of honest people believe things that simply aren't true; crazy things, even. How can his honesty have any relevance to him dreaming up a story about something he had absolutely nothing to do with?

The only redeeming factor about a movie is that Arnold and Sylvester are too old to play the lead roles

I believe John Bouchard when he thought the original story seemed unlikely and suspicious.
As to exactly what happened, nobody on the outside knows, including Bouchard.

John Bouchard's version of events is the correct one, as I recall.
I.e. the soldier agreed to let the climbers go, as long as the climbers
agreed to tell the story that they pushed the guy off the cliff,
so that the soldier wouldn't get into trouble with his superiors.
Since the soldier ended up in prison, apparently his superiors figured it out.

"John, 51, who was one of America's greatest Alpinists before he retired from the sport in 1998, admits there is little he and his wife haven't done in service of a curiosity turned hobby turned obsession that is in its third year, has drained their bank account of more than $30,000 and has so consumed their days that Nancy often wishes they could "have a life again." But they can't. Not when they are writing a book that they say will expose one of the most talked-about episodes in modern climbing--the August 2000 kidnapping of four American climbers in Kyrgyzstan and their harrowing escape--as a haul bag full of half-truths and exaggerations. "There is no question they went through a horrible experience," John says. "But there are just too many discrepancies. Just ... too much." "