Cliffhanger (C- or 1.5/4 stars)
Gabe Walker (Sylvester Stallone) is a member of a mountain climbing rescue team in 'Cliffhanger', directed by Reny Harlin (Die Hard 2). When one of Gabe's 4,000 ft. above ground climbing operations goes terribly wrong & the girlfriend of his best pal, Hal Tucker (Michael Rooker), slips out of Gabe's hands - plummeting to her death, Gabe blames himself & leaves said operation. 8 months later, after living the domestic life in Denver, he returns to the mountains & persuades his lover, Jessie (Janine Turner), to come along with him.
While he's there, a call for help comes in & Gabe decides to throw himself back in the fray; for one last rescue attempt. However, unbeknownst to him, the rescue is a fake, put out by hijackers stranded in the mnts. after a botched mid-air heist; & the subsequent crashing of their plane. Led by the insane Eric Qualen (John Lithgow), they're after 3 boxes filled with $100,000,000 that are lost somewhere in the Rockies. Drama, chaos, & heavy-duty action sequences ensue.
First & foremost, Cliffhanger's opening segment is almost too harrowing to consider watching the rest of the movie. I was literally shaken by horror as the female dropped, grasped, clung, clawed, screamed, beckoned for help ("please don't let me die!!"), & eventually slipped from Gabe's grip. It was just HORRIFYING. H.O.R.R.I.F.Y.I.N.G. It looked like Gabe would save her. She was desperate to live. The scene extends. And then she free falls to her spectacular death. I mean ... I was so rattled ... okay, gotta stop thinking about it. Moving on.
The rest of the movie, for better or worse, doesn't live-up to the breathless aspect of that 1st segment. Sure, the backdrop for the film is glorious to look at (Colorado Rockies). There are muscular, visceral moments in the story; with awe-inspiring stunts. Renny Harlin has shown us his skills with action (Die Hard 2). There are tense moments; and a fair share of explosions, brutality, sadism, gunplay, & high-flying action set pieces, but in between all of that is a poorly acted, poorly written motion picture. Any drama in the script fails miserably. The pacing/editing of the talky scenes feels too languorous. Scenes involving 2 high school students lend nothing to the proceedings. And the dialogue is fairly atrocious, throughout.
Performance-wise, no one gets off scot-free. Sly Stallone is fine, but indistinguishable from prior Stallone roles (just in a different setting). Still, he's a major presence. The only other performance of note is John Lithgow's villain. I love Lithgow. However, though he comes across as suitably psycho ... his portrayal is actually not as over-the-top as it could have been. Some of Eric Qualen's undermen come across as more animated & loathsome than their leader. So overall, while I'm sure this film will find an audience, I can't say it's a quality movie; summer blockbuster or not. And that opening .... gah. I'm still trying to forget it.
While he's there, a call for help comes in & Gabe decides to throw himself back in the fray; for one last rescue attempt. However, unbeknownst to him, the rescue is a fake, put out by hijackers stranded in the mnts. after a botched mid-air heist; & the subsequent crashing of their plane. Led by the insane Eric Qualen (John Lithgow), they're after 3 boxes filled with $100,000,000 that are lost somewhere in the Rockies. Drama, chaos, & heavy-duty action sequences ensue.
First & foremost, Cliffhanger's opening segment is almost too harrowing to consider watching the rest of the movie. I was literally shaken by horror as the female dropped, grasped, clung, clawed, screamed, beckoned for help ("please don't let me die!!"), & eventually slipped from Gabe's grip. It was just HORRIFYING. H.O.R.R.I.F.Y.I.N.G. It looked like Gabe would save her. She was desperate to live. The scene extends. And then she free falls to her spectacular death. I mean ... I was so rattled ... okay, gotta stop thinking about it. Moving on.
The rest of the movie, for better or worse, doesn't live-up to the breathless aspect of that 1st segment. Sure, the backdrop for the film is glorious to look at (Colorado Rockies). There are muscular, visceral moments in the story; with awe-inspiring stunts. Renny Harlin has shown us his skills with action (Die Hard 2). There are tense moments; and a fair share of explosions, brutality, sadism, gunplay, & high-flying action set pieces, but in between all of that is a poorly acted, poorly written motion picture. Any drama in the script fails miserably. The pacing/editing of the talky scenes feels too languorous. Scenes involving 2 high school students lend nothing to the proceedings. And the dialogue is fairly atrocious, throughout.
Performance-wise, no one gets off scot-free. Sly Stallone is fine, but indistinguishable from prior Stallone roles (just in a different setting). Still, he's a major presence. The only other performance of note is John Lithgow's villain. I love Lithgow. However, though he comes across as suitably psycho ... his portrayal is actually not as over-the-top as it could have been. Some of Eric Qualen's undermen come across as more animated & loathsome than their leader. So overall, while I'm sure this film will find an audience, I can't say it's a quality movie; summer blockbuster or not. And that opening .... gah. I'm still trying to forget it.