Cliffhanger

Rating:
Summary: Thin story, good action and suspense.
Review: "Cliffhanger" is one of those movies where the suspense sequences and action stunts outweigh everything else by a landslide (pardon the pun). There's really not much to the development of characters or plot, except that the movie uses the script as an excuse to put its characters in extremely dangerous situations one after another. On this ground, it works splendidly, and while the story and characterization are weak, there are still some good performances turned in by the cast.

The movie sets itself up with the promised white-knuckle action in a sequence that brings on the tension but fails to move us emotionally. On his way to retrieve his best friend, Hal Tucker (Michael Rooker) and his girlfriend, Sarah, from a 4,000 peak, Gabe Walker (Sylvester Stallone) makes an attempt to rescue Sarah after she begins falling, without success. Hal blames it on Gabe, and Gabe's own self-torment keeps him from town and from his own love, Jessie (Janine Turner). This move, while meant to establish emotion and character depth, doesn't do a whole lot for the script.

The movie then transfers us to a U.S. treasury plane, where three cases of money, in bills unusable except by a select group of people in the world, are being flown across the country. The plane is soon hijacked by a group of terrorists, led by Eric Qualen (John Lithgow). However, his plans are ruined once they lose the cases at high altitude and crash in the Rocky Mountains, where they call for help under the guise of being in danger.

Sparing the rest of the movie's twists and turns, once Gabe and Hal arrive on the scene, they are taken hostage and forced to climb mountains and hike through forests to find the three cases of money, soon bringing more people into the situation than the movie calls for.

The movie chooses to focus more on the action than on the story itself, which really isn't that bad a move. From the high-altitude stunts to the white-knuckle suspense generated by the scenes charged with high-octane suspense, the movie doesn't lose its ability to get our attention with actors hanging on the edges of cliffs and mountains, holding on for dear life.

The tension generated by the terrorists is, at best, mediocre. Even under the shadow of leader Lithgow, whose flair for turning a colorful phrase at every moment is funny yet unsettling, the movie never really gives us any reason to fear the henchmen along for the climb. There are certain moments, such as that in which the only black terrorist hunts Gabe and Jessie in a cavern, or when Gabe is trapped beneath an ice-covered lake. However, the only people the terrorists knock off we aren't given too much time to know, so what reason do we have to care?

Stallone is back in fine form, the action hero we've always admired from his earlier "Rocky" days. He's required to carry a lot of the heroism on his shoulders, and big as those shoulders are, that is no easy task. Yet, he is able to pull it off, with the help of Rooker and Turner, who give jobs well done in their roles.

While not the best action film ever made, "Cliffhanger" is a commendable piece of suspense that works due to its breathtaking action sequences and the altitude of its settings. It tends to drag in places, but really, with a movie that's so focused on getting us into a sweat, what does it matter?

Rating:
Summary: Not What I Remembered
Review: Cliffhanger is a high-paced action movie which pits Gabe (Sylvester Stallone), an experienced, but "tired of it all" mountain rescuer against a band of money-grubbing terrorists led by John Lithgow's character looking to retrieve their loot after it has been lost in the mountains.

When I first heard about the DVD release of Cliffhanger, it was sort of like a revival. Here is a film that I had remembered as being something of a better-than-your-average action movie with a rugged and brash demeanor. However, although some of the action sequences are still amazing, there seems to be a total abandonment of character development after the first half hour of the film. It seems at times that scenes are shortened too much, whereas otherwise they would have a much more poignant effect if lengthened.

John Lithgow's (in his pre 3rd-Rock days) character remains to me the high point of the film. As in his other notorious film, Raising Cain, he plays the same dignified, although completely insane mastermind, which I feel is the role that was truly meant for him.

Stallone, on the other hand, though still able to "bang heads" with the best of them, cannot compete on the same acting grounds as Lithgow.

If there is one thing about this movie that stands out from the rest, it is the breathtaking title sequence. To me, it was unexpected and added a sense of realism to the film, while giving the audience its first look at the grandeur of the mountainous landscape.

This movie is a good "ho-hum" ride with a couple of surprises and a lot of holes. Stallone's best work remains in the first two Rocky films, which, with immense character focus, brings you into the heart of the lead man. As for more modern Stallone films, I prefer Assassins (played as a one-on-one duel across from Antonio Banderas) and Demolition Man (a funny view of the future).

Rating:
Summary: Action & Scenery a plus...
Review: Has Sylvester Stallone ever made a 5-Star movie? You bet. "Rocky" is one, and "Cliffhanger" is the other. John Lithgow plays the perfect villan set beautifully in the snow covered Rockies. This movie is non stop action and it has a bit of everything... like a nice plane crash scene; above average dialogue (yes, even for Sly); some good chases; kids on snowboards; and innocent people being mamed. There's even a few touching moments with Sly and his girlfriend (or should we say exgirlfriend?). This DVD package offers some nice features and the widescreen version with the great views is the only way to go. Stallone's made a ton of movies and this one is easily one of his best. Great action flick!

Rating:
Summary: Sly Stallone in Another of the Greatest Action Movies Ever.
Review: Sly gives one of his Best Performances in Years and John Lithgow adds another Brilliant Psycho to his Resume in Cliffhanger, an Edge-of-your-Seat Thrill ride that keeps the Thrills coming from Minute One.

The Story and Screenplay are Inspired, retaining Realism, Credibility and Character without Sacrificing Action, Spectacle or Over-the-Top Thrills.

Renny Harlin's Direction is Top-Drawer, he coaxes Wonderful Performances from the Leads and the Supporting Cast. Michael Rooker and Leon are Standouts. Sly Carries the film with a Caring and Emotional Performance, and John Lithgow proves again that he is the world's Greatest Over-Actor (that comment is meant in a Good way). Like "Raising Cain" and "3rd Rock from the Sun", Lithgow is given a Long Leash in his Interpretation, his performance is Utterly Original while remaining an Old Fashioned Hiss-able Villain.

Rating:
Summary: Great Action Movie
Review: This DVD version of Cliffhanger is excellent! It has a great Dolby 5.1 Track that is certain to please! The film itself it a great all-around action movie. I definately recommend picking it up.

Rating:
Summary: Cliffhanger
Review: While the previous reviews of this movie are certainly correct in describing this movie as "one of Stallone's best movies", I am trememdously disappointed that not one of the reviews addresses the outrageous use of profanity. This movie was absolutely awesome in its color, scenic beauty, suspense, and acting. However, I was and am disappointed that the producers felt it necessary to use an overabundance of obscene language. The overuse of this language was totally unnecessary as the storyline was novel and would have been wonderfully entertaining without every other sentence containing "colorful metaphors" (so to quote Captain Kirk). Absent the profanity, I enjoyed this movie tremendously.

Rating:
Summary: Cliffhanger is one if not the best stallone movie ever made.
Review: Cliffhanger is the title of this movie and rightfully so because this movie moves like a jet fighter at mach speed from the incredible opening that toys with our fear of heights and put's us in the center of sheer terror to the middle of the , film where our heroine must use every survival instinct to stay alive to the rousing climax where our hero must have a last and final encounter with the villan, Cliffhanger stays alive because it gives us the kind of popcorn thrills that we miss from the , action films of the 80's but put someone like Stallone in this adventure and you have a top notch action thrill ride ,Stallone makes a big come back and even does most of his own stunts and yes that is him on the mountian.Stallone plays Gabe Walker a , mountian ranger who has been climbing for years when he decides to assist his ranger friend and his love intrest a fun day of mountain climbing turns into sheer terror as young woman hangs on for dear life as Gabe tries desperately to rescue her but the attemp fails and the woman falls to her death,Gabe suddenly feels sorry for himself because he wished there was more that he could have done.Meanwhile Eric Qualen play perfectly by , Jhon Lithgow holds a U.S. Treasury hiest in midair the plan fails and the crash in the rockies with the money lost and a distress call is sent and picked up , Gabe sees this an big oppertunity to redeem himself from his past little does gabe know that these perticular terrorist want there money and , they will go to every length to get it even if it means killing Gabe he must use ever survival instinct known to him to make it through the onslaught of terror tired hungry and freezing to death Gabe takes a stand against the terrorists in this heart stopping thrill ride.

Features sevral audio commentarys , personal intro from director Renny Harlin , the making of Cliffhanger on the edge, the exciting theatrical trailer , storyboards and much more a pulse pounding popcorn thrill ride incredable cinimatography and academy award winning sound makes good use of dolby digital if you liked this years Vertical Limit then pick Cliffhanger up and hang on this one peaks fast.

Rating:
Summary: Good Movie, Great Extras!
Review: i think the extra features of this DVD save it from being a 3 star movie. this is a good "basic" action movie where silvester stallone plays a mountian climber who battles it out with bad guys on a mountain. the plot is ok, and the acting could be better, but it's a good 2 hour time killer.

the extra features are the best part of the disc and really was the main reason why i bought the DVD. the commentary is cool (although stallone isn't on there much) and the deleted scenes are pretty cool.

Rating:
Summary: Sound, Action, Popcorn City
Review: Buy it for the sound. There are few movies with a better soundtrack and soundfield. The first 10 minutes are great movie-making but almost unbearable to watch. Visually, there are a lot of breath-taking mountain scenes and the midair plane-to-plane scene is a standout on the DVD. I'd seen the movie at the theatre when it came out and later on VHS but the DVD version on a big screen with a good sound system is like a new movie. It's full of wild special effects, fantastic sound and a 5-star popcorn muching edge-of-your seat E-tictet ride!!

Rating:
Summary: A DVD review
Review: As a rock climber, don't get me started on all the technical/factual errors of this film; I'll just concentrate on the DVD features. The commentary from Harlin and Stallone are combined with mostly Harlin doing the talking. I think Stallone makes comments in only 3 points in the movie. The commentary from Harlin is interesting especially combined with the comments from the crew. The art director and editor give the crew comments. The art director gave very interesting comments on how most of the effects were done, the editor's comments were very boring. There's an intro by Harlin about why he made the trailer, as it is, which is a bit unorthodox, but not much. Stallone hosts the making of featurette and is fairly interesting giving info on how the major effects were done. There are actually only 2 deleted scenes with a separate introduction by Harlin for one which I guess counts as the third. One is a completely unrealistic ice climb by Stallone and I other I can't remember, regardless, they added nothing to the film and were rightfully cut. The two special effects behind-the-scenes are of the helicopter explosion and the introduction fall. The three storyboard comparisons were of the helicopter explosion, the air-to-air transfer, and the introduction fall; boring. The photos in the galleries were too small and maybe on a huge screen you could see detail, but probably not. For the climbers out there, Wolfgang Gullich was Stallone's climbing double who died shortly before this movie was released and the film is dedicated to him. Ron Kulk (climbing double), Jim Bridwell (rigger), Bob Gaines (safety officer) and David Breashears (camara operator, IMAX Everest) also worked on this film. The only extra that really makes this DVD worth it is the crew commentary otherwise everything else is just fluff. I might add this to my collection mainly because I'm a climber and as unrealistic as it is, the Italian Alps, where a lot of the scenes were filmed, is just gorgeous country.