Re: The Wing Kong Exchange
After a horrible climbing accident takes the life of his friend's girlfriend, mountain ranger Gabe Walker takes a leave of absence. He returns a year later and quickly finds himself caught up in a rescue mission. Unfortunately for him, these individuals are not victims, they are thieves who lost three cases containing 100 million dollars during a mid-air heist. They plan to use a guide to lead them to the cases and then dispose of him, and Gabe will stop at nothing to see that their plan does not succeed.
Cliffhanger, released in 1993, is one of those action films that I can watch any time. It has a great combination of likeable heroes, dastardly villains, spectacular set pieces and thrilling moments. It's also blessed with a better than average story and a superb directorial effort. While its not always mentioned among star Sylvester Stallone's most well known pictures, it is nevertheless one that I'll always remember him for. Sometimes everything just sort of comes together and a great movie forms from the smallest of ideas, as was the case here. Coming out at a time when action films such as Terminator 2, Point Break and Hard Target were among the most popular at the cinema, Cliffhanger managed to create a somewhat unique environment and therefore stands out among the crowd. Is it the best action movie ever made? Nope, not even close, but its got a lot going for it and once it kicks into gear it doesn't let up until its conclusion, which is really all you can ask for out of an action film. Definitely one of Stallone's best, Cliffhanger will have you holding on tight while enjoying the roller coaster ride that it provides.
"Hey don't fa......never mind."
Directed by Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2) and written by Michael France (who would go on to write GoldenEye and the Thomas Jane Punisher film) along with Sylvester Stallone, Cliffhanger has something to offer even the most discerning action film fan. Harlin's direction is, for the most part, solid, and he manages to keep the film moving forward at a nice, brisk pace. He's also able to take time to step back and examine the interpersonal relationships between not only the heroes but also the villains, which is a welcome change from the standard action film. Too often characters in these movies end up as bland, cookie cutter types that don't really serve much purpose other than to kill or be killed. Harlin's direction, along with France and Stallone's screenplay, really serve to highlight the characters well. Even though some of them aren't on-screen for long, I know a little about each, and that serves to make them more important than they would be normally. The actors chosen to play the roles also manage to do excellent work and though this film is clearly a vehicle for Stallone, its nice to see some others getting an opportunity to shine as well.
Sylvester Stallone is his usual awesome self and here he brings some real pathos to his character courtesy of the exposition at the beginning. This is a man who is harbouring serious guilt issues, and for good reason too. It's nice to see Stallone stretch the acting muscles because the man has always been underrated when it comes to his actual ability. He's not just a pack of muscles, he's got a heart as well, and it shows here. He's paired well with Michael Rooker, another great actor who never really seems to get his due. They work great together, and also with Ralph Waite, as kindly old pilot Frank and Janine Turner as Stallone's love interest, Jessie. I really enjoyed the scene between Stallone and Rooker where they bring up the past incident and Rooker loses it on Stallone, as he should. I've always liked Rooker but I gained a new respect for his acting ability after watching this film. Fuji Favourite Max Perlich also pops up as a base jumper which automatically gives the film an extra half point because I love the guy. The villains are all quite good, particularly Leon and Caroline Goodall, but two of them manage to steal the thunder from the rest in each and every scene.
"Third Rock from the Sun my ass."
John Lithgow is not like Stallone and Rooker. The man is legitimately lauded for his acting talents and for good reason, he totally owns. The guy can make any character a good one, regardless of its limitations, so when he gets a chance to play a strong one he's that much better. The character of Eric Qualen is one of the great action villains, and that's mostly due to Lithgow's dynamic portrayal. He is instantly convincing and completely charismatic, so much so that I actually found myself rooting for him from time to time. Of course he's utterly despicable, but also quite intelligent, which makes him a perfect antagonist for Stallone and Rooker. Along with Lithgow, Rex Linn is dynamite as Agent Travers. Most people know Linn from his extended run on CSI: Miami, but trust me, the man is so much more than that simple policeman character. Travers is deplorable scum and you can't wait to see him get his comeuppance, but at the same time you can't help but enjoy his constant uttering of thewords "Goddamn it!" or "F*ck". In fact, Linn says them in such funny ways that I wanted to find a clip to share with you. Well guess what, someone must have been thinking the same as me, because here is EVERY occurrence of him saying them in the entire film!
[video=youtube;FbiontrNGQk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbiontrNGQk&feature=player_embedded#![/video]
That is just awesome, as is Linn, and I'd highly recommend watching the film for him and Lithgow alone. However, its also the action that brings out the fans, and this film has plenty. There's an awesome fight in a cave between Stallone and Leon, a nice base jumping sequence, a shootout on an airplane, a mid-air money heist that goes awry, a sweet bridge explosion and so much more. In fact, I'm amazed that Harlin found time to tell the story between all of that stuff, but remarkably he did. Ultimately, the film is about redemption and forgiveness. Even though its purely an action piece, its nice to see that those themes were covered so well and capped off at the end. Sometimes the action film can also be used to tell a subtle story like that and this is certainly one of those times. While most people will view it as just mindless entertainment, there really is a little depth here, which definitely makes it better than many of its contemporaries. Cliffhanger wouldn't be your standard Best Picture fare, that much is certain, but its capability to entertain is near limitless and it does offer a little more than just boom, bang, biff, pow and any other words used in the old Batman show's fight sequences!
"Just do it woman, its better than listening to you nag!"
Cliffhanger was shot on a budget of $65 million and ended up grossing over $255 million at the box office, good enough for tenth overall for 1993. In a year with Jurassic Park, The Fugitive and The Firm all being released, those are solid numbers. I'm also glad the studio decided not to go ahead and do a sequel, as I can't imagine it being any good. The film has a self-contained story and as such should only have ever been a one-shot deal. Luckily it was and we have it to watch over and over again, especially in nice, shiny Blu Ray. A quick point to that, I'd like to thank Troy for recommending I buy this because it was definitely worth it. I'll never doubt you buddy, not that I ever did before but still. Anyhow, Cliffhanger is certainly worth checking out if you haven't seen it before, so I'd advise you to do so immediately.
8/10.
"Next time, another plane crash leads to a simple plan."
