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Cliffhanger

Mixed or average reviews
Based on 16 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 2 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Action | Adventure | Suspense/Thriller
Written by:
Michael France (also screen story)
Sylvester Stallone
John Long (premise)
Directed by: Renny Harlin
Release Date:
Theatrical: May 28, 1993
DVD: June 13, 2000
Running Time: 113 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Language(s): Italy / France / USA
Summary
RATING: R
Starring Sylvester Stallone, John Lithgow, Michael Rooker, Janine Turner, Rex Linn, Caroline Goodall, Craig Fairbrass, and Max Perlich
Sarah (Turner) was an inexperienced climber. She trusted Gabe (Stallone) to rescue her. But something went wrong high above the valley floor. Cliffhanger is high-altitude avalanche of action: a non-stop adventure peak with suspense and capped with heart-quaking terror. (Sony Pictures)
Also On Metacritic
FILM: Deep Blue Sea Driven Exorcist: The Beginning Mindhunters The Covenant
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Variety Todd McCarthy
But where most rugged he-man films feature a few action sequences scattered throughout, director Renny Harlin keeps the adventure stuff in this reputed $ 65 million production coming at an astonishing pace.
Read Full Review >Time Richard Schickel
Director Harlin's only large mistake is staging the several violent deaths too authentically. They momentarily mar the high-speed implausibility of a movie that, like his Die Hard 2, agreeably combines the edgy and the genial.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Elvis Mitchell
All of the performers are upstaged by the film's breathtaking backdrop, and by the fast and furious way Renny Harlin, the director, approaches action sequences.
Read Full Review >Empire Mark Dinning
Action filmmaking at its best; a career high for director Harlin and arguably Stallone as well.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten
It grabs you by the viscera in the opening prologue and for the next two hours rarely lets go.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
Movies like this are machines for involving us and thrilling us. Cliffhanger is a fairly good machine.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Staff(not credited)
Cliffhanger offers us breathtaking mountain scenery, some occasionally gripping action sequences, and a lot of gags--mostly unintentional and mostly courtesy of Sylvester Stallone.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Christopher Harris
As directed by Renny Harlin (the director of Die Hard 2), Cliffhanger passes the principal tests of an action movie - it has truly awe-inspiring stunts and special effects and many of its suspense sequences will leave you with your heart in your mouth.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
Despite the don't-look-down Olympian settings, Cliffhanger's spirit is brutal and earthbound.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum
On the other hand, the brutality and sadism it delivers at every opportunity, which we're supposed to take for granted as part of the "fun," left me feeling that any civilization that can create such an entertainment may not deserve to survive.
Read Full Review >ReelViews James Berardinelli
The dialogue is routine, frequently punctuated by cliches, and the character-building scenes do little more than waste time.
Read Full Review >The New Yorker Anthony Lane
For all its technical sophistication, this movie is as blaring and unambiguous as a picture book for the very young.
Read Full Review >USA Today Mike Clark
After a tense, terrific, stomach-turning opening that may have moviegoing acrophobes recalling Vertigo, the film soon becomes the latest screen variation on cat-and-Mighty Mouse. [28May1993 Pg.04.D]
Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
Make no mistake, the high-flying stunts in director Renny Harlin's film are definitely state of the art, and while they're going on, the film works up a serious level of excitement. But as soon as the action stops and the inevitable talking begins, Cliffhanger falls to earth with a considerable thud. [28 May 1993 Pg. F1]
Washington Post Rita Kempley
He's slightly more articulate than usual, but the lines still fall from his lips like beaten boxers to the mat. Not that it much matters, given the constant mayhem.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Desson Thomson
It's an eroticism of nastiness -- triple-X fare for dirty old men in raincoats. If you resist this sleazy gorefest, you'll be right to feel proud of yourself.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 5.0 (out of 10) based on 2 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Ryan W gave it a10:
My dad and I are huge fans of Stallone and Cliffhanger is one of his finest. 2 thumbs up.
