I wasn’t particularly expecting to enjoy Cliffhanger, seeing as it looked like a movie with one action sequence after another without any real substance. In truth, that’s pretty much all it is – perhaps the storyline was a little better than I expected – but because it’s done so well I did, much to my surprise, find myself quite gripped by it.

When Gabe Walker (Sylvester Stallone) is involved in a failed rescue attempt (he’s a mountain rescue climber), he loses heart and wants to quit the job completely, despite being one of the best in the business. As a result of this he quits his job, falls out with his best friend Hal Tucker (Michael Rooker), and comes close to losing his girlfriend Jessie Deighan (Jannine Turner). It takes a desperate situation to get him back up the mountains, but the situation is far more desperate than any of them realise, after the most audacious robbery in history ends up being botched, with several very nasty pieces of work left stranded high up on the mountainside… A desperate game of cat and mouse ensues, but which will be the more deadly enemy – the criminals, the rock face, or the weather?

The philosophy behind the characterisation is simple – the good guys aren’t amazingly likeable (well, one is but he didn’t have a huge part to play in the proceedings), but the bad guys are so easy to hate that we still root for the good guys 100%. This isn’t a strategy that I find works too well in most cases, but funnily enough it works pretty well in Cliffhanger. The reason for this is that the action sequences are given to us in a quick-fire manner, so there is little time for the viewer to think about things to much. The action sequences are spectacularly shot, and it’s a real white-knuckle ride through many of them. The film was nominated for several awards for its special effects and sound, and it’s easy to see why. (On the other hand it was nominated for several Razzies, which was maybe a little unfair but it’s also quite easy to see why.) There is a lot of action, some of it a little gruesome, and it really does keep you on the edge of your seat. Stallone certainly looks the part and looks considerably more athletic as a 47 year-old than most of us are at 30! (It’s possible that part of this was the special effects, of course!!) Michael Rooker as his embittered buddy was pretty good in his role.

On the other hand the acting in several places wasn’t up to much. Jannine Turner is very cute but didn’t really convince, albeit this was partly because she was required to do little except look perplexed. John Lithgow (Third Rock from the Sun) didn’t really seem right as the main bad guy – sure he looked and sounded evil, but I just couldn’t shake the feeling that really he was an alien trying to understand humans. Seriously though, he just didn’t seem right in the part – quite apart from his Third Rock persona.

Overall, Cliffhanger only tries to be an intense action thriller, and it does so very well. I would recommend it to you if you like action films, but not if you’re looking for something with a bit more intelligence. Normally I might be more critical of a film like this but I just thought it was really well shot and exhilarating.

Other Information

Director: Renny Harlin
Rating: 15 (UK) R (USA) – for profanity (too much for my liking not every minute like some films) and intense action / violence. Definitely not recommended for kids.
Runtime: 113 minutes (though apparently we in the UK get a minute less…)

Music by Trevor Jones (Last of the Mohicans, and so many other movie soundtracks)

Quotes

None!! – dialogue certainly isn’t this film’s strength!!


See also my Top Ten Action / Adventure Movies


Recommended:
Yes

Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age