Review of Cliffhanger (1993) by Ej K — 11 Feb 2011

A solid action-thriller from start to finish. "Cliffhanger" easily stands in the top tear of '90s action films, and is one of leading man Sylvester Stallone's most engaging and rewatchable films.

A top-notch cast works to the film's advantage as well, with John Lithgow's incredibly dark and uncompromising villain standing out alongside Michael Rooker and Janine Turner's admirable secondary roles.

Several other familiar faces flesh out the group of badguys, each of whom gets their moment to shine (and eventually get killed off in an interesting way). The plot is quite simple and straightforward, but the breakneck pacing, dark tone and larger-than-life action help to turn this "Die Hard on a mountain" concept into something with much more character.

Renny Harlin has found that perfect balance of excessive action and engaging characters, and every scene pushes forward with a growing sense of intensity. Despite a few empty one-liners and a sprinkling of cheesy music (only in a few instances), "Cliffhanger" is still every bit as fun and awesome as it was back in the height of action cinema, and should be acknowledged as one of the best examples of solid filmmaking in that genre.