Back in the heyday of Saturday matinees, one of the more entertaining types of films were the cliffhangers. Designed as serials where the audience would be left wondering what would happen to the hero or heroine as they faced some sort of climactic and perilous, but unresolved dilemma, the films were popular because they left the viewer on the edge of their seat, hanging on until the next installment that would resolve the previous one, but then conclude with yet another one left up in the air.
Subsequent films and then TV shows such as "Batman" used the format to their advantage in keeping the audience guessing and then tuning in. Who will ever forget the lines, "Will Batman escape the dastardly plans of the Joker? Will Robin realize he's just an underpaid sidekick? You'll have to wait until next week to find out. Same bat time. Same bat channel."
Fresh off his success with "Die Hard 2," director Renny Harlin helmed the 1993 action/adventure film, "Cliffhanger" that comes by its title both literally and figuratively. While obviously not the first installment of some old-fashioned serial, the film - penned by star Sylvester Stallone and co-writer Michael France - does utilize the standard, edge of your seat moments found in most action flicks (thus its link to those old matinee pictures) and just so happens to have them take place in some snowy mountain environs (thus the appropriate title).
While the basic plot - of a mountain rescue expert foiling the attempts of some villains who've just stolen millions and millions of dollars from a U.S. Treasury plane and then lost it all in those mountains - is a bit far-fetched at times in a flashy, big budget Hollywood type way, it's certainly engaging and often exhilarating from start to finish.
After a harrowing and still gripping opening sequence, the film zips along a not altogether unpredictable storyline, with Sylvester Stallone's character encountering and then dispatching the film's many villains. Although the only one with a semblance of dimensionality is the head villain played by a pre-"3rd Rock From the Sun" John Lithgow - who properly hams it up so much that you half expect him to have a long, handlebar mustache - we know that the rest are there just as fodder for Stallone's butt-kicking antics.
As the protagonist, Stallone gives the typical post-Rocky/Rambo action performance (meaning he's the solemn but likable guy who can kick anyone's butt no matter how many times they beat him in his T-shirt in subzero weather) and it works decently here despite now being something of a caricature. Michael Rooker ("Here on Earth," "The Bone Collector") plays the former best friend who holds a grudge for Stallone dropping his girlfriend, while Janine Turner ("Leave it to Beaver," TV's "Northern Exposure") can't do much with her character who's mostly stuck back at headquarters on the radio.
True to it's title and genre, many of the film's stunts literally take place on the edge of many a cliff, and the setting gives what's otherwise a typical "Die Hard" lone hero defeats the villain type story a unique feel. While the acting is generally okay if not spectacular, the technical efforts are all first-rate (and earned the film Oscar nominations for Best Sound, Sound Effects Editing and Visual Effects).
Overall, if you're looking for a fabulously staged and somewhat over-the-top action flick where one perilous cliffhanger type moment occurs after another, you certainly won't go wrong with this entertaining and enjoyable picture. Nor will you go wrong with the DVD. Not only are the aural and visual components top-notch, but the supplemental materials are also exceedingly numerous and will keep fans of the film busy for hours if not days absorbing all that's present.
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