Cliffhanger (1993)

[KONG-D'SNT-TAP]

I like that Cliffhanger also refers to when someone has a visible booger and you want to break it to them nicely.

"Hey you have a cliffhanger"

 

[DM1982]

The other day @mb23100 dropped into my Vertical Limit thread and proclaimed Cliffhanger's greatness.

I mentioned that Cliffhanger was one of those movies that got away from me and I never saw it, and I took his post to be something of a challenge. We'll call it the mb23100 Challenge!

So a couple of nights ago I went ahead and and checked it out.

First off, I'll say that the first 30ish minutes of this film are excellent. I mean, real Grade A kind of shit. From the opening scene where Gabe is climbing around amongst all the beautiful scenery to the death of Hal's girl to the hijacking on the plane, this is all great stuff.

BTW, according to the IMDB trivia, this stunt was done for real. They paid the guy $1 million to cross from one plane to the other.

However, after the plane goes down, I feel like the movie also dips in quality. It becomes a very conventional 90s action film. Die Hard on a Mountain, essentially.

Which isn't to say this is necessarily BAD, but it's not inspired either. It's not showing me something that I feel like I've never seen before. It's just the same action movie that I've seen many times before, only this time it's on a mountain.

I also have to make a complaint that I made with Vertical Limit: Much of the movie feels artificial. While there is some great on-location photography, way too much of the movie feels like it's shot on a soundstage somewhere.

But let's give credit where credit is due: Stallone is reliable as the protagonist, Rooker does a good job in everything he's in, Lithgow is truly excellent as the villain, and Janine Turner is as talented and good looking as ever.

And while the story does feel a bit been-there-done-that, it does a pretty good job of doing the thing it's trying to do. I mean, look, I'm not some kind of an asshole. When Stallone does THIS I obviously know it's pretty awesome.

So what's the verdict here? Okay, Cliffhanger: A fun 90s action film with a prime Stallone, a tremendous first act, and some gorgeous natural scenery, but also a film that ultimately feels rote and predictable.

This all adds up to a solid 7/10.

And how does it stack up with Vertical Limit? Well, and I'm just speaking personally here, but I can appreciate a more mountain climbing-focused plot and inventive action sequences. So, sorry mb23100, but if it's a lazy Sunday afternoon five years from now and these are my options, I think I'm just gonna have to take it to the limit . . . the Vertical Limit!

Great action flick.


Would you have enjoyed it more had you got to appreciate it when it first came out? Since you cite 'having seen it all before' as one of it's drawbacks.

It's full of great sequences, the locations are jaw dropping, and, as you mentioned, Lithgow is a brill villain.

Though, unintentionally funny to me in parts:

'Walker, you resilient bastard'

lol shittest insult ever!

 

[Guestx]

Would you have enjoyed it more had you got to appreciate it when it first came out? Since you cite 'having seen it all before' as one of it's drawbacks.

That's certainly possible, especially if we're talking about me seeing it at 11 years old, which is how old I would've been in '93.

 

[DM1982]

That's certainly possible, especially if we're talking about me seeing it at 11 years old, which is how old I would've been in '93.

I'm virtually the same age and prolly saw it when it first came out on video.

I remember it as being one of the best actioners of the time.

It's obviously not viewed as equal to Die Hard, Predator etc, but for me the mountain-top setting really set it apart - as you mentioned the opening scene is a classic.

 

[Guestx]

I'm virtually the same age and prolly saw it when it first came out on video.

I remember it as being one of the best actioners of the time.

It's obviously not viewed as equal to Die Hard, Predator etc, but for me the mountain-top setting really set it apart - as you mentioned the opening scene is a classic.

It's definitely above-average for an action film and I agree that the mountain setting gives it a different feel than nearly everything else.

If only it could've maintained the level of quality it set with its first act then it would truly be a great film. As it stands, it's just a pretty good one.

 

[DM1982]

It's definitely above-average for an action film and I agree that the mountain setting gives it a different feel than nearly everything else.

If only it could've maintained the level of quality it set with its first act then it would truly be a great film. As it stands, it's just a pretty good one.

'I was a good striker'





'Season's out, asshole'

 

[the ambush]

My rating is a 9/10

 

[BisexualMMA]

You guys need to wake yourself and check out K2 with Michael Biehn

You don't think of it as a Luca Bercovici movie?

 

[Idonotbelieveit]

Not accurate but entertaining movie

 

[Protectandserve]

Man thread resurrection right here.

Cliffhanger was a great 90s movie.

 

[Zer]

John Lithgow is an amazing actor --being able to play hilariously comical and sadistically evil with ease.

Lithgow is deliciously evil in Cliffhanger. He's one of my favourite 90's villains along with the likes of Simon Phoenix and Alan Rickman

I never get the love for his turn in Dexter where he's completely bland and emotionless except for his manchild fits. Bro, did you not watch Cliffhanger? Give the man some dialogue and it's GOLD. How do you cast Lithgow and not let him ham everything up?

 

[JabToucher]

This is a cliff hanger of a thread

 

[BisexualMMA]

Lithgow is deliciously evil in Cliffhanger. He's one of my favourite 90's villains along with the likes of Simon Phoenix and Alan Rickman

I never get the love for his turn in Dexter where he's completely bland and emotionless except for his manchild fits. Bro, did you not watch Cliffhanger? Give the man some dialogue and it's GOLD. How do you cast Lithgow and not let him ham everything up?

I thought he had a quiet and understated menace about him in Dexter. Kind of like Oded Fehr in Sleeper Cell.

Agree he was one of the great 90s action villains.

 

[DeJulez]

It's an old school action movie by today's standards. I can appreciate how the action sequences felt much more gritty.

What are today standards?
Cartoon graphics that are suppose to look real?

 

[Prefect]

Lithgow is deliciously evil in Cliffhanger. He's one of my favourite 90's villains along with the likes of Simon Phoenix and Alan Rickman

I never get the love for his turn in Dexter where he's completely bland and emotionless except for his manchild fits. Bro, did you not watch Cliffhanger? Give the man some dialogue and it's GOLD. How do you cast Lithgow and not let him ham everything up?

I enjoyed Cliffhanger more than Die Hard. Die Hard gets a lot more love than it deserves. The premise of the movie is better than movie itself. People remember the premise. If you go back and watch it, Cliffhanger, Demolition Man, Last Action Hero, Tango and Cash, Commando, Total Recall, Stargate, and Big Trouble in Little China are better action movies from around that time.

 

[BisexualMMA]

I enjoyed Cliffhanger more than Die Hard. Die Hard gets a lot more love than it deserves. The premise of the movie is better than movie itself. People remember the premise. If you go back and watch it, Cliffhanger, Demolition Man, Last Action Hero, Tango and Cash, Commando, Total Recall, Stargate, and Big Trouble in Little China are better action movies from around that time.

1980s Bruce Willis (Die Hard / Moonlighting) was a very charismatic guy on screen. Between his performance and Rickman's the premise was executed to (true or near) perfection, and the film benefited from great supporting performances from good to great actors like Hart Bochner, Robert Davi, William Atherton, Paul Gleason, Godunov, VelJohnson, Bedelia etc. Even very small roles were filled out with competent actors like Grand Bush and De'voreaux White.

I'm not sure where you feel like Die Hard failed to capitalize on the execution of the premise. The specifics of the execution were what elevated it above other great action movies. Things like sustaining an injury that actually handicaps the hero's performance henceforth. Proper execution of the claustrophobia of the setting. Etc.

 

[Prefect]

1980s Bruce Willis (Die Hard / Moonlighting) was a very charismatic guy on screen. Between his performance and Rickman's the premise was executed to (true or near) perfection, and the film benefited from great supporting performances from good to great actors like Hart Bochner, Robert Davi, William Atherton, Paul Gleason, Godunov, VelJohnson, Bedelia etc. Even very small roles were filled out with competent actors like Grand Bush and De'voreaux White.

I'm not sure where you feel like Die Hard failed to capitalize on the execution of the premise. The specifics of the execution were what elevated it above other great action movies. Things like sustaining an injury that actually handicaps the hero's performance henceforth. Proper execution of the claustrophobia of the setting. Etc.

It feels slow and stupid. It isn't even played straight, which is what 3veryone praises it for. Willis has one liners and improbable events happen over and over. The stupid cop is about as not real as you can get. It is not set at all in the gritty real world. It is a dumb action movie that passes itself off as being a real average guy taking on some criminals. Go watch the original Get Carter if you want that. Get Carter is better in every way if you want a guy taking on a group of criminals.

 

[BisexualMMA]

It feels slow and stupid. It isn't even played straight, which is what 3veryone praises it for. Willis has one liners and improbable events happen over and over. The stupid cop is about as not real as you can get. It is not set at all in the gritty real world. It is a dumb action movie that passes itself off as being a real average guy taking on some criminals. Go watch the original Get Carter if you want that. Get Carter is better in every way if you want a guy taking on a group of criminals.

If your complaint is that Die Hard doesn't meet your standard of gritty and real, I'm not sure why you're praising Cliffhanger, Demolition Man, Last Action Hero, Tango and Cash, Commando, Total Recall, Stargate, and Big Trouble in Little China as superior films.

I could single out Commando and Tango & Cash in particular as examples of similarly set non-fantasy films that are far less gritty and grounded in reality.

 

[TheLinguist]

I liked it

 

[Mike]