For several years, Sylvester Stallone had been in one turkey after another. Before he starred in Cliffhanger, he starred in a number of flops such as Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot and Oscar. For some reason, Stallone somehow lost his way in the movie world and got stuck making forgettable flops like those two movies. My best guess is that either his next film will be a hit or a miss. And to tell you the truth, Cliffhanger is definitely an hit, an huge hit for the box office.
Stallone plays an rescue mountain climber who, in the beginning of the movie, is trying to rescue his friend, Hal Tucker, (Michael Rooker), and his girlfriend from an mountain. Unfortunately, the rescue attempt doesn't go smoothly as the clip on Rooker's girlfriend snaps and slips through the harness. She falls to her death down an gorge, leaving both Rooker and Stallone, devastated.
Months later, Stallone is living by himself, away from his other friend, played by Janine Turner. Stallone is scarred for life because of what happened months ago with the death of Rooker's girlfriend death. However, he continues to climbs mountains anyway.
The centerpiece of the story involves an group of villains, lead by John Lithgow. Their plan is to rob an U.S. Treasury plane with three cases holding millions of dollars. Their high-altitude plan goes completely wrong when their plane crash lands in the Rocky Mountains, leaving the bad guys, stranded in the snowy wilderness. Seeking help, they radioed help from the local mountain rescue center. Soon enough, Stallone and Rooker finds themselves caught up with the bad guys as they are being used by the villains to help find their stolen loot in the Mountains.
The great thing about Cliffhanger is it's mountain climbing scenes. I actually started to believe that these actors were really climbing an mountain, instead of climbing an fake mountain that was build on a studio set. These are real mountains, all right. With that being said, the action sequences are well directed although I had a hard time believing in the way the bad guys were able to get the three cases into their plane while trying to fly their plane through the high altitude. Most of the action sequences in Cliffhanger are so energetic and sometimes scary due to the fact that some of the bad guys fall off the mountain. And when these characters are leaning over the edge of the mountains in some of the scenes in the movie, I was actually afraid that they would fall.
The movie was directed by Renny Harlin, who directed the second Die Hard movie and he does a very good job creating an stunning visual sensation with the beautiful shots of the canyons and gorges. The movie was shot in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado and the use of the locations in the movie are very useful as a setting for a movie like this. I couldn't really picture myself climbing those mountains by hanging off the side of it. For those who know what I am talking about, it pretty scary.
Stallone is okay as the lead character. He tries his best to not only play an action hero, but an flawed one, too. The best performance comes from John Lithgow, who plays the leader of the group. His British accent and his ways of taking people out of his plan is very sadistic, making him the perfect villain. He is maybe different from the villain in Harlin's last film, Die Hard 2, but Lithgow does a very good job playing the bad guy who doesn't take chances.
With the exception of Cliffhanger, I could only say that Stallone is mild in this movie. He isn't really that great, but at least give him credit for trying to become an flawed character. That's important because we've seen Stallone play heroes before like Rocky Balboa or John Rambo. Those characters are like superhuman characters that are meant to win in the end of the movie. Here, it turns an different direction. It's interesting to see him tackle this kind of role because it's surprising and interesting. As for the action sequences and the mountain scenes, those scenes will have you admiring the breath- taking views of the Rockies. I will say though that this movie might even give you vertigo because of the scenes involving climbing especially the beginning of the movie which is clearly authentic. ★★★ 3 stars.
Stallone plays an rescue mountain climber who, in the beginning of the movie, is trying to rescue his friend, Hal Tucker, (Michael Rooker), and his girlfriend from an mountain. Unfortunately, the rescue attempt doesn't go smoothly as the clip on Rooker's girlfriend snaps and slips through the harness. She falls to her death down an gorge, leaving both Rooker and Stallone, devastated.
Months later, Stallone is living by himself, away from his other friend, played by Janine Turner. Stallone is scarred for life because of what happened months ago with the death of Rooker's girlfriend death. However, he continues to climbs mountains anyway.
The centerpiece of the story involves an group of villains, lead by John Lithgow. Their plan is to rob an U.S. Treasury plane with three cases holding millions of dollars. Their high-altitude plan goes completely wrong when their plane crash lands in the Rocky Mountains, leaving the bad guys, stranded in the snowy wilderness. Seeking help, they radioed help from the local mountain rescue center. Soon enough, Stallone and Rooker finds themselves caught up with the bad guys as they are being used by the villains to help find their stolen loot in the Mountains.
The great thing about Cliffhanger is it's mountain climbing scenes. I actually started to believe that these actors were really climbing an mountain, instead of climbing an fake mountain that was build on a studio set. These are real mountains, all right. With that being said, the action sequences are well directed although I had a hard time believing in the way the bad guys were able to get the three cases into their plane while trying to fly their plane through the high altitude. Most of the action sequences in Cliffhanger are so energetic and sometimes scary due to the fact that some of the bad guys fall off the mountain. And when these characters are leaning over the edge of the mountains in some of the scenes in the movie, I was actually afraid that they would fall.
The movie was directed by Renny Harlin, who directed the second Die Hard movie and he does a very good job creating an stunning visual sensation with the beautiful shots of the canyons and gorges. The movie was shot in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado and the use of the locations in the movie are very useful as a setting for a movie like this. I couldn't really picture myself climbing those mountains by hanging off the side of it. For those who know what I am talking about, it pretty scary.
Stallone is okay as the lead character. He tries his best to not only play an action hero, but an flawed one, too. The best performance comes from John Lithgow, who plays the leader of the group. His British accent and his ways of taking people out of his plan is very sadistic, making him the perfect villain. He is maybe different from the villain in Harlin's last film, Die Hard 2, but Lithgow does a very good job playing the bad guy who doesn't take chances.
With the exception of Cliffhanger, I could only say that Stallone is mild in this movie. He isn't really that great, but at least give him credit for trying to become an flawed character. That's important because we've seen Stallone play heroes before like Rocky Balboa or John Rambo. Those characters are like superhuman characters that are meant to win in the end of the movie. Here, it turns an different direction. It's interesting to see him tackle this kind of role because it's surprising and interesting. As for the action sequences and the mountain scenes, those scenes will have you admiring the breath- taking views of the Rockies. I will say though that this movie might even give you vertigo because of the scenes involving climbing especially the beginning of the movie which is clearly authentic. ★★★ 3 stars.