Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, May 29, 1993 TAG: 9305290055
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: B-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Every element of the 1988 hit is copied here, and many of the action sequences are astonishing on a "how-did-they-do- that?" level. Those big scenes may be enough to turn the film into a commercial hit, but the script by Michael Frank and star Sylvester Stallone is so inept and pointless that it borders on unintentional comedy.
Stallone is Gabe Walker, a Rocky Mountain rescue ranger who has lost the will to climb. In an illogical introductory scene -- ominously setting the stage for the rest of the plot -- he fails to save a young woman trapped on a high peak. Her boyfriend, Tucker (Michael Rooker), takes it badly. So does Gabe's girlfriend (Janine Turner) when, tormented by guilt, he leaves town.
He returns eight months later, on the same day that a gang of European badguys hijacks a plane carrying three cases of new $1,000 bills from the Denver Mint. We're told that these bills are worthless, that they're used only for specific international transactions. Why then does the brilliant though psychotic terrorist Qualen (John Lithgow) want them? Well, because he's going to, uh . . . do something with them. Don't ask. Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.
The plot details are flimsy excuses to get the action rolling. In short order, the cases are lost in the mountains. The bad guys then capture Gabe and Tucker, and force them to find the cash. In the process, every high-altitude movie cliche you've ever seen is dusted off and recycled: the avalanche, the landslide, the cave filled with bats, the loose suspension bridge, the fraying rope.
When it comes to staging and filming physical action, director Renny Harlin ("Die Hard 2") is usually effective. He's able to tap into moviegoers' fear of heights with some incredibly realistic scenes. In places, it really looks like Stallone or his stunt double is hanging by his fingertips with no safety line thousands of feet above the ground. Standing in for the Rockies, the Italian Alps are spectacular.
That said, the violence in the film is stupidly, needlessly explicit. Again, it's a flaw that can be traced directly back to the script. In attempting to create despicable villains, the writers went too far. Unlike the dapper criminals of "Die Hard," these guys (and one woman) are a bunch of bickering crybabies. When they're not snarling at each other, they're killing each other. And the one black character is such a collection of stereotypes that he's an offensive racist caricature. In short, you don't enjoy disliking them and that's a big mistake.
With this genre, fans expect the protagonist to be a brave, one-dimensional, well-muscled action figure. In front of the camera, Stallone the actor handles those bare-chested heroics as well as he ever has. But Stallone the writer didn't do himself any favors.
Finally, the two sides of the film -- the rugged outdoor adventure and the unpleasant characters trapped in a laughable plot -- virtually cancel each other out. "Cliffhanger" may have trouble holding onto its audience as the summer season heats up.
CLIFFHANGER: **1/2. A TriStar Pictures release, 118 min. Rated R for graphic violence, strong language.
by CNB