Cliffhanger (movie): Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

An action movie starring Sylvester Stallone and including John Lithgow as a key villain. This movie was nominated for Worst Picture for the 1993 Golden Raspberry Awards but is an enjoyable enough film if considered as light entertainment.

A climber (played by Sylvester Stallone) loses his confidence after a rescue went bad. Called back in for a final rescue by his ex-wife, he overcomes his inner demons to help an ex-buddy with the rescue. However, the ex-buddy is bitter because the prior failed rescue had killed the wife of the ex-buddy.

Anyway, during the rescue, the two climbers are taken prisoner by ruthless thieves who stole (but subsequently lost) $100 million of money belonging to the US government. These thieves carried out a daring airplane-to-airplane transfer of the funds; but, during the transfer, a gun battle among the disputing thieves led to the loss of the money. Fortunately for the thieves, the (stereotypical) suitcases holding the money had beacon locators. Because the money was lost in mountainous territory, these rescue climbers are taken prisoner and coerced into locating the money for the thieves.

True to the movie's cliffhanger label, numerous action sequences take place under dangerous circumstances. During many of these sequences, the thieves get killed off one by one. For example, in a twist of ironic justice, one bad guy keeps Stallone's character trapped under some clear ice; but, by the end of the sequence, we see the corpse of the bad guy float by under the ice.

The movie was mainly shot in its most breathtaking scenes in Italy in the Dolomites in the area of Cortina d'Ampezzo.