Cliffhanger (1993)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Mike S

  
  Severely underrated Stallone flick. I had only seen bits and pieces of it before on TV, where it gave me a mediocre impression. But now that I saw it in its full length, I'm really surprised to say it was a great and well-paced actioner. John Lithgow is superb as the film's… More
  Severely underrated Stallone flick. I had only seen bits and pieces of it before on TV, where it gave me a mediocre impression. But now that I saw it in its full length, I'm really surprised to say it was a great and well-paced actioner. John Lithgow is superb as the film's chief villain, and I bet it was this performance they looked back to, when they cast him as a serial killer in Season 4 of <i>Dexter</i> (which, by the way, is also my favourite season thus far). A non-stop ride of thrills and excitement, which despite some minor defects in the dialogue, climbs all the way to the top with a rousing series of intrigues.

• Martin S

  
  I don't understand how a movie this bad can be so good

• Chris W

  
  Featuring some excellent location shooting and cinematography, this is a thrilling, and entertaining action/adventure yarn about some mountain rescure climbers who are called in to rescue some plane crash survivors, only to discover they are really stranded criminals who need help… More
  Featuring some excellent location shooting and cinematography, this is a thrilling, and entertaining action/adventure yarn about some mountain rescure climbers who are called in to rescue some plane crash survivors, only to discover they are really stranded criminals who need help searching for a ton of cash they had recently acquired through illegal means. This film is just reall, a crazy B-Movie, but it's so damn entertaining and well done that it's hard not to like. It's got suspense, acton, tons of violence, it looks terrific, features wonderful scenery, and has some great music too. This was also back when Renny Harlin was a good director of this sort of thing before he became a joke and enterted a state of failure he has yet to recover from. Like Die Hard 2 (which preceeded this film), this is Harlin doing a fantastic job of taking a simple premise, throwing in lots of thrills, getting a good cast together, and making a totally awesome piece of entertainment. Give this one a watch. It's great.

• Albert K

  
  I remember having a lot of fun with this movie. That's what it is- a B movie.

• Tsubaki S

  
  Generic Stallone vehicle, but well shot and with actual moments of tension. Back when CGI was used just for dinosaurs and such. Lithgow needs to play villians more often.

• Jeff "

  
  Cliffhanger directed by Renny Hsrlin, who has been dubbed one of the worst directors is actually a fairly decent action film. Sure the film is cheesy, cliche and all, but it's also what it makes it fun to watch. Cliffhanger follows the usual formula established by previous… More
  Cliffhanger directed by Renny Hsrlin, who has been dubbed one of the worst directors is actually a fairly decent action film. Sure the film is cheesy, cliche and all, but it's also what it makes it fun to watch. Cliffhanger follows the usual formula established by previous Sylvester Stallone flicks. One can expect that watching Cliffhanger you won't exactly get am Oscar worthy performance out of Stallone. The performance of the film belongs to John Lithgow. Lithgow is terrific as the villain, Ertic Qualen. Cliffhanger does have good action scenes, but at times it feels a little flat. This isn't the best action film, but it definitely isn't the worst. Quite an entertaining ride, Cliffhanger is good enough entertainment for anyone looking for a mindless thrill. Cliffhanger is a fun film not to be taken seriously. I found Cliffhanger to be solid, enjoyable and fun. It's understandable that this film isn't everyone's cup of tea. But to those looking for a good action film, Cliffhanger is the one to check out. Considering that Renny Harlin made this, he delivers a good film despite the fact that the mainstream critics see him as a terrible director. Harlin has made good films throughout his career, and he is no where near as the worst film maker in cinema. Cliffhanger among other films proves this. Harlin can craft a watchable action film thats fun and thrilling for the viewer. Cliffhanger though flawed, proves to be a very enjoyable 2 hours of action packed entertainment.

• Tim S

  
  A very enjoyable action flick. It's not perfect - there are some silly uses of slow motion and some poor character moments that make the thing drag in spots, but overall, action-driven and a lot of fun.

• danny d

  
  made me wanna climb the dirt pile in my backyard

• Conner R

  
  Just all kinds of cool, it's an original setting and take on the "one man army" scenario. Sylvester Stallone is a god when it comes to these types of movie premises because he's so good at making a lovable character within the first two minutes. I love the villians… More
  Just all kinds of cool, it's an original setting and take on the "one man army" scenario. Sylvester Stallone is a god when it comes to these types of movie premises because he's so good at making a lovable character within the first two minutes. I love the villians and their comletely ruthless nature, very often do people get so shamelessly killed off. Not since Die Hard has there been such an iconic action feel. It's just a great straight-forward, simple plot.

• Anthony L

  
  Jump!

• Cassie H

  
  Great action-packed Stallone movie. I swear my favorite action movies are the ones that Stallone stars in. Just an fantastic movie! :)

• Jason O

  
  Sylvester Stallone and John Lithgow star in this exciting adventure with great cinematography and special effects. Gabe Walker (Sylvester Stallone) is an experienced mountain rescue worker trying to retrieve some money that was stolen from the U.S. Treasury. To drive him to catch the… More
  Sylvester Stallone and John Lithgow star in this exciting adventure with great cinematography and special effects. Gabe Walker (Sylvester Stallone) is an experienced mountain rescue worker trying to retrieve some money that was stolen from the U.S. Treasury. To drive him to catch the thieves even more, they kidnap one of his best friends. Mr. Walker has to find a way to get the money back while also saving his friend's, and his own life. I like just about all of Sylvester Stallone's movies, but "Cliffhanger" is one of my favorites because it has cool scenery and some of the best special effects. I thought the part where Stallone is underwater while one of the bad guys are watching him from above the frozen surface was one of the best parts. The ending sequence is also well done. John Lithgow puts on a spectacular performance as the main enemy. If you like action movies with great effects and a lot of suspense, I recommend getting "Cliffhanger." NOTE: That was my Amazon review from the year 2000. Sylvester Stallone's easily one of my favorite action movie actors, period, and I've always considered this to be one of his very best.

• Curtis L

  
  Your basic mindless action flick. It was fun at first, because it had cool rock climbing in it. Once the bad guys showed up, it basically became a "how can we kills loads of bad guys" movie. Sly got his butt kicked by the black dude, which is impossible. He just takes it… More
  Your basic mindless action flick. It was fun at first, because it had cool rock climbing in it. Once the bad guys showed up, it basically became a "how can we kills loads of bad guys" movie. Sly got his butt kicked by the black dude, which is impossible. He just takes it like a girl. Anyways, more climby less killy please.

• Candy R

  
  Another action hero movie from Stallone. Excellent special effects.

• Cassandra M

  
  Sly's best out and out action film. It is a superbly enjoyable movie with some interesting characters, solid performances and Renny Harlins direction is stylishly assured. Stallone is rarely this interesting in his action films and he certainly looks the part in terms of the… More
  Sly's best out and out action film. It is a superbly enjoyable movie with some interesting characters, solid performances and Renny Harlins direction is stylishly assured. Stallone is rarely this interesting in his action films and he certainly looks the part in terms of the action scenes. This was one of the best action films of the year and one of the most thrilling and enjoyable of the 90's, a definite genre classic. As a Stallone fan this is one I look back on with fond memories. Plenty of superb action and Sly in prime action man form. Action lovers appreciate this film because it has all the hallmarks that make a good aciton film. The film looks great and there is great support from Janine Turner, Michael Rooker and John Lithgow.

• Stephen M

  
  This was something of a comeback for Stallone, and it remains one of the last things he made worth seeing. Of course, on the one hand it's very silly and formulaic: one-time friends with a grudge reunite to battle a common enemy; hero, haunted with guilt, has a chance of… More
  This was something of a comeback for Stallone, and it remains one of the last things he made worth seeing. Of course, on the one hand it's very silly and formulaic: one-time friends with a grudge reunite to battle a common enemy; hero, haunted with guilt, has a chance of redemption, etc, etc. It is, however, well done and highly entertaining. Most of the mountainous terrain cliches are covered (Avalanche? Check. Rope bridge scene? Check. Death by stalactite?!?!? Check.) and, if some of the sets look a little too much like sets, the pre-CGI-saturated charm is still potent.

• Dan S

  
  Surprisingly a good, corny Sly movie. Lithgow was fantastic as the bad guy, and Rooker had a lot of scene-stealing parts.

• Aaron N

  
  Travers: Tucker and Walker! We're missing 3 bags. Gabe Walker: What's in them? Travers: None of your fucking business! Eric Qualen: Suits, socks, 100 million dollars - the usual stuff. Its Die Hard, on a cliff! Stallone climbs rocks and kills the bad guys. A joy to watch… More
  Travers: Tucker and Walker! We're missing 3 bags. Gabe Walker: What's in them? Travers: None of your fucking business! Eric Qualen: Suits, socks, 100 million dollars - the usual stuff. Its Die Hard, on a cliff! Stallone climbs rocks and kills the bad guys. A joy to watch when it's on tv. You have a standard plot mixed with a heavy opening sequence, some good climbing action and a nice Renny Harlin R rated action style, all you need. Hal Tucker: Gravity's a bitch, ain't it?

• Dean !

  
  Doesn't look that dated at all. A gripping (lol) action film that is a bit different to the norm.

• Khris N

  
  Well, as the blurb says, it was a revilasation of Stallone's action career - but then he did diminish later on. What makes this movie special is that it defined the 90's action movie genre - at a time present and past, action movies were defined by muscular and rough looking… More
  Well, as the blurb says, it was a revilasation of Stallone's action career - but then he did diminish later on. What makes this movie special is that it defined the 90's action movie genre - at a time present and past, action movies were defined by muscular and rough looking stars with muscles and moves ie: Stallone or Wesley Snipes, or the humour and hair ie: Bruce Willis and Kurt Russell. This movie brought a change to the action genre and shows that not all action flicks involve cops and bad guys and submachine guns to rocket launchers (although Cliffhanger does have it fair share of armaments) but the real deal about this movie is the setting - the Rockies. For first timers, it is the defnitive CLIFFHANGER - from the first scene it has you hooked and keeps up the thrills when the movie gets going. Stallone is a definitive action star - and at this time, most action flicks decided to get rid of the squeaky clean hero and go for the broken bones and missing teeth as Willis set the trend in Die Hard. Following in the footsteps of Die Hard 2, director Renny Harlin isnt a director known for producing great flicks - but all directors deserve one gem and this was his. The Cast were okay in terms of the leading roles of Stallone, Rooker and Lithgow played the bad guy to the hilt. But the rest left much to be desired. The shining star though goes to the background, the camera crew and the stunt director - i couldn't tell the difference between shooting on location or on a set... it looked that good. And of course, the action and stunts were cool - if you look at it from my view, this movie did experiment with the action and scenes and later movies took their lessons from this. If you havn't seen this movie - you should watch just to see the changing history in Hollywood action movies. Compare this to the likes of modern day action thrillers which came around in 1997 - more plots, less muscle, more talk, less hair..... This big disappoint is in trying to watch it a secnd time. Sadly, its not something which you can watch again. No value there I think. In comparison, in order to fully appreciate the changing style of action movies, I would recommend you watch this, Die Hard with a Vengeance, The Rock and Con Air in order of their release dates. Then watch Face Off and another later day action flick such as XXX2 and see the big differences.

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