It is very clear that some movies are going to be unbelievable and have bad acting. Somehow, some of those movies still manage to be very entertaining. For me, Cliffhanger is one of those movies.
Gabe Walker worked on a mountain rescue team until he was involved in a tragic accident during a rescue attempt. Gage left the mountain, leaving behind his girlfriend Jessie. He was back a year later for what he intended to be just a short visit long enough to get the last of his things. Instead he found himself talked into helping former friend Hal with a rescue.
The people needing rescued were actually criminals who had committed a mid air robbery that went wrong, causing suitcases filled with money to be scattered across the mountains. Eric Qualen, the man in charge, decided that they would pretend to need help to get someone familiar with the area to track down the money for them. Gabe managed to get away, but Eric was still forcing Hal to help find the suitcases. Gabe was racing to try find the suitcases first.
The plot for Cliffhanger was rather simple without any major surprises. The plot could have been stronger and a bit more developed. Much of what happened was rather predictable and there really weren’t any surprises to what was going on. Bad guys being motivated by large amount of money isn’t anything new, though having things set in the mountains made it slightly different. It would have been nice if there had been some more originality to what was going on. I felt that the movie still managed to be entertaining, though some may be disappointed that the plot wasn’t stronger.
There really wasn’t any mystery in Cliffhanger since it was clear from the beginning that Eric was the bad guy. There were several working with him, including a government agent who turned, working with him, but Eric was the one calling all the shots. There were a few questions related to how everything would work out, but they weren’t enough for me to feel like there was mystery to the movie. I didn’t feel like the movie was suspenseful overall even though there was some suspense in a few sequences. There were a couple of things that happened that I didn’t expect, but I really wasn’t surprised by anything.
Action turned up several times throughout Cliffhanger. The mid air plane robbery and subsequent crash added the first bit of action. The rest of the action took place on the mountains while Eric and his people were using Hal to find the money. Since Gabe got away and decided to try to find the money first, he ended up in most of the action sequences. Some of them did involve Gabe climbing the mountains. The action scenes were done well for the most part, though they weren’t the most believable. Gabe did some amazing things even while injured. He was somehow able to run around in the snow covered mountains without a coat and he didn’t get hypothermia. People really need to be able to suspend their disbelief about certain things to be able to really enjoy this movie.
Eric didn’t have a problem using violence to get things done. He did injure more than one character throughout the movie. Gabe ended up fighting different people that were working for Eric. Those fights did add some violence to the movie. Certain things were bloody or even gory and could bother some viewers. The violence wasn’t as extreme as what as turned up in some movies, but it could still be too graphic for some viewers. The violence, as well as the swearing, caused the movie to be rated R. This is not a movie for children.
None of the characters in Cliffhanger were developed that much, even Gabe and Eric, the two that seemed to be the most important to the overall plot. Really all that was known about Eric was that he was the mastermind and he had no problem using violence to get things accomplished. He was not a nice guy. I did think that John Lithgow did a good job with the part even though he ended up with some bad lines. None of the others working with Eric were developed at all. Kristel was a pilot who seemed to have a personal relationship with Eric. The other guys mostly seemed to be hired muscle. Richard Travers was the treasury agent that got mixed up in the plan.
Gabe was a good climber who had been a good rescuer before the accident. He tried to deal with the guilt by leaving the mountain and severing ties with everyone. Once he got involved in what was going on, he was determined to find the money first and make sure that Hal wasn’t hurt. Sylvester Stallone was fine in the part, though nothing special. Jessie and Gabe had been involved before he left the mountain. She was mostly capable of taking care of herself, so she wasn’t just a damsel in distress. Janine Turner did seem to be over acting in some scenes. Hal just seemed to be angry and hostile toward Gabe, though that started to change as the movie progressed. Michael Rooker really didn’t have a lot to work with.
Main Cast
Caroline Goodall - Kristel John Lithgow - Eric Michael Rooker - Hal Sylvester Stallone - Gabe Janine Turner - Jessie
Renny Harlan - Director
DVD Information
I have seen the DVD for Cliffhanger several times, but I don’t know what sort of extras are on it since I don’t own it. The movie does turn up on television at times. Depending on which channel it is on, some things will be edited out.
Cliffhanger doesn’t have the strongest plot, but it was still an entertaining action movie overall. It is a decent choice for people in the mood for a mindless action movie. Fans of Stallone will probably find something to like.
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