Cliffhanger

Cliffhanger

Starring Sylvester Stallone, John Lithgow, Michael Rooker, Janine Turner

Directed by Renny Harlin

The Story:
After an unfortunate accident, former rock climber and Ranger Gabe Walker (Sylvester Stallone) leaves town.  He returns eight months later to try to reconcile with his old girlfriend Jessie (Janine Turner), but then they receive a distress call from a group of hikers stuck in the mountains.  Jessie begs Gabe to help, to which he reluctantly agrees, reuniting him with his former friend Hal (Michael Rooker), who holds him responsible for the accident that happened months earlier.

The stranded hikers are actually mercenaries led by Qualen (John Lithgow), who were stranded on the mountain after their plane crashed.  They were in the process of transferring $100 million dollars from a government plane when they crashed, and now the three crates are strewn on the mountain, and they force Gabe and Hal to find it for them.  But the two men won't go down without a fight.

The Synopsis:
Sylvester Stallone is one of cinema's most well-known action stars, and there was no shortage of Stallone testosterone on the big screen.  "Cliffhanger" was just one, as there was also "Demolition Man," "The Specialist," "Judge Dredd" and "Daylight" just to name a few.  While none of these films have Oscar-caliber writing or performances, they're still enjoyable in their campy value.

The whole concept of this film doesn't make a lick of sense.  You have a team of mercenaries stranded on a mountain, and they keep berating and almost killing the two men who could get them down.  They're searching for three crates full of money, but how would they get them off the mountain?  On its head, the film just doesn't work.  Yet it's Stallone's natural charm that propels it to something greater than it should've.

John Lithgow plays the main villain (it was supposed to be Christopher Walken, but he backed out at the last minute).  I've never seen "Dexter," and only know Lithgow for his comedic performances, so seeing him as the head of a murderous group is strange to say the least.  Not to mention he has a terrible accent that drops many times in the film and detracts from the film I was watching.

I have a huge fear of heights, so seeing the characters traverse the unforgiving mountains was nerve-wracking at best, but since the story made no sense, it kept taking my mind off the dangers they were facing.  The opening scene is easily the most unnerving, while the rest is just them adventuring on the mountain.  I find it difficult to review this film because I find it difficult to have a film like this in the first place.  There's nothing spectacular about it, but nothing totally wrong either - it just doesn't make sense.

The Summary:
A film obviously made for Stallone in mind, "Cliffhanger" offers some daring feats and stunts, but ultimately fails to deliver a cohesive story that makes any bit of sense.

The Score: C