Yes, CLIFFHANGER is nothing more than DIE HARD on a mountain, and Renny Harlin's second best film following on from DIE HARD 2: DIE HARDER. It's an ultra-cheesy and ultimately funny action romp filled with special effects sequences which range from the breathtaking to the downright silly, and it's a film which is over the top and bombastic in every respect.

The best part of the film is the electrifying - and much-parodied - opening sequence, and after that point we're in B-movie territory with an A-list cast and budget as backup. Sylvester Stallone appears in one of his more wooden performances as a haunted mountain guide who becomes involved with a criminal gang who are searching for three briefcases full of stolen cash which have been dropped high up in the snowy peaks.

There are some fun one-liners here, along with plenty of action and stunts, so there's very little to dislike as the whole thing has a good sense of fun. The bad guys don't have much menace and concentrate more on chewing the scenery. John Lithgow gives the best performance as the chief nasty, a guy who couldn't be any less imposing if he tried (he's a far cry from his role in BLOW OUT) and he's supported by various unsavoury types. Craig Fairbrass, playing an ex-footballer turned international criminal, is a real hoot.

Harlin's direction is acceptable and although Stallone is doubled for a lot of the difficult stuff there are some truly impressive stunts on offer here. Being a 1990s film, as much stuff blows up as humanly possible. Watch out for Michael Rooker in a rare good guy role.

Gabe Walker (Sylvester Stallone) is an expert mountain climber. While rescuing injured friend Hal Tucker (Michael Rooker),equipment failure causes the death of Hal's girlfriend. Gabe is haunted by the death and blames himself. Eight months later, a government plane transporting bulk money is hijacked. However the 3 suitcases of $100M are lost in the aerial transfer. The criminal gang led by Eric Qualen (John Lithgow) crash lands. Gabe and Hal are tricked into rescuing the gang, and are kidnapped to track down the suitcases.

The money transfer looks silly when the whole hijacking is suppose to be thrilling. However the climbing chase in the mountains has its thrills and its spills. In the end, it's a fun little ride and probably better than one might expect from this standard B-movie.

"Cliffhanger" is one of the most seen films from 1993. It reached no°10 in the box office ranking from that year. The director is Renny Harlin from Finland who has worked on several sequels to classic movies including "Die Hard", "Nightmare on Elm Street" and "The Exorcist". The script comes from John Long, Michael France and lead actor Stallone himself. For some reason, the Razzie Awards decided to nominate this movie in several categories, which is pretty ridiculous as it is by no means a bad movie. John Lithgow is a great villain (as we know from "Dexter") and Janine Turner gives a decent performance as well. The Razzies really messed up by nominating these two as well as the screenplay and film itself. Turner was probably cast as she played the central character in an Alaska-based television series which was very successful at that point. Snow content seems to be her thing.

The movie centers on Sylvester Stallone, who is sometimes displayed as almost too perfect here. Even when he fails to rescue a woman in the first thirteen minutes, we see that he did everything right. Everybody sees that except him and Rooker's ("The Walking Dead", I did not recognize him though) character. That's why the friendship of the two men is also a crucial emotional plot point as the film goes on. The two go on an extraordinary journey when they get kidnapped by a group of criminals deep in the snowy mountains and have to help the thugs to get back some suitcases full of money.

All in all, I enjoyed watching these 105 minutes. It's pretty good entertainment. There are minor flaws: For example, I did not understand really the inclusion of the two young guys in the mountains who added absolutely nothing to the story. Other than that, I can certainly recommend watching this film and I am not even a great Stallone fan. The fact that I knew Lynn and Lithgow (and these two had major roles) helped me a lot in appreciating this film I guess. Visually, it is pretty nice too. The snowy mountain landscapes are great to watch and I can see how this movie scored three Academy Award nominations. By the way, it lost the entire trio to "Jurassic Parc". I recommend watching it. The first 15 minutes are certainly one of the best intros to any 1990s movie.