Pelis and Popcorn: 'Cliffhanger'

By Michael Lopez

Would you say that you're a fan of modern-day CGI effects in movies? Sure they can allow you to travel to new worlds and act alongside Easter bunnies, but there is something to be said about a good old-fashioned stunt flick. Back when Cliffhanger was made, there were no computer generated avalanches or digital freefalls. Everything in this classic movie is REAL and that's why it's a definite P and P Hall of Famer!

When this movie was released back in 1993, audiences were awestruck. Sylvester Stallone was literally leaping off mountaintops, hanging on helicopters, and dodging explosions in the Colorado Rockies. And this wasn't the over-the-hill Expendables dude you know today, this was muscled up Stallone in his prime!

Cliffhanger has all the elements you need for a roller coaster-paced action flick. There's the lone hero, aka Gabe Walker, a mild-mannered professional mountain climber. Then there's the sexy love interest (played by Janine Turner), who you know gets used for collateral later in the movie. And of course, an over-the-top villain, played here beautifully by John Lithgow.

The plot concerns a suitcase full of money lost in the alps and Lithgow's cold-blooded methods to retrieve it. As you can imagine, Gabe gets unwillingly caught up in the action and off we go on a shoot-em-up, edge of your seat adventure.

Back in the 1990's, audiences couldn't get enough of this movie. It wound up earning over $255 million at the box office and became one of the top grossing films of the year. Stallone even received some additional praise, since he is credited as one of the screenwriters.

Which leads us to the big question…Why wasn't there a Cliffhanger 2? Sly was able to crank out six Rocky’s and four Rambo’s, you’d think he'd at least churn out a second installment of this classic flick. Though we may never know the answer, we can at least enjoy it on Pelis and Popcorn night.

Don't miss the hardcore stunts of Cliffhanger, Saturday at 11pm on Tr3s!

What's your all-time favorite action flick? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Blogger: Michael Lopez, Cliffhanger, John Lithgow, Movies & CineMás, Pelis and Popcorn, Sylvester Stallone