Terminator 2: Judgment Day Review (Revisited Part 2) "No problemo!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, figured I would get one more post in before Christmas comes round and this one will be on yet another Arnie film and this one is of course Terminator 2 (or T2 if you like) which is the mega budgeted sequel to the original. So, this post will be a revisit of my previous post, which was also a revisitation of the much older original one.

So, with that said, let's load up and see how T2 fairs after 32 years...

And the usual warning is coming...

PLOT SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

STORY

OK starting with the usual stuff the story of the film begins back in 1995, where John Connor (Edward Furlong) is just a 10 year old boy, who at this time lives in Los Angeles with his foster parents.  John's mother Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) however has been sent to an asylum after she tried to blow up a computer factory, and is monitored by Dr Silberman (Earl Boen) from the first film.  

Skynet in the future, still set on destroying the resistance, sends a new terminator back in time to kill the young John Connor, the terminator, a T-1000 model, is far more advanced than the T-800 model, which is composed of liquid metal and can imitate anyone it comes into contact with, as well morph its hands into stabbing weapons.  The T-1000 (Robert Patrick) assumes the identity of a police officer, and starts to track down John, but at the same time, the future resistance send back an older T-800 model Terminator (Arnie) to protect John.  

Both terminators eventually track John to a mall, and they end up both fighting each other, with John barely escaping on his motorbike.  The T-1000 chases John in a truck along the freeway and before he is run over, the T-800 rescues him, and shoots out one of the truck's tyres, causing to crash and explode, but the T-1000 soon emerges unharmed, as it morphs back into its normal form.

The T-800 (or Terminator as I will call him from now on!) then explains to John that his mission is to protect him and that he was sent by the future John.  The Terminator tells John that the T-1000 in attempt to kill him, will wait for John to contact his mother, who he will assume her identity and kill her.  John orders the Terminator to help him avoid Sarah from being killed, and they soon rescue her from the maximum security hospital, as she was in the process of trying to escape herself, but they are soon intercepted by the T-1000 who gives them chase, but they escape.  

John, Sarah and the Terminator then travel out south where Sarah meets with an old friend, Enrique (Castulo Guerra) who helped her during her resistance days.  Sarah during their stay has a terrible nightmare about the nuclear holocaust of Judgment day and this pre-empts her to go after the man responsible for creating Skynet, Miles Dyson (Joe Morton).  With the knowledge the Terminator has given Sarah, she travels out to Dyson's home and attempts to assassinate him, on entering his house however, on the verge of pulling the trigger, with Dyson's family around him, she can't bring herself to do it.  

John and the Terminator soon arrive once they realise what Sarah is doing, and they tell Dyson about Judgment day and the future.  Dyson agrees to go to Cyberdyne labs with them to destroy his research, however they are soon surrounded by police, and as the police breach the building, they shoot Dyson, who holds the detonator, wired to blow up his research, on his dying breath he lets it go, and blows the labs up.

John, Sarah and the terminator manage to escape the Cyberdyne building, but they are pursued by the T-1000 who chases them on the freeway, and they eventually arrive at a steel mill, where they face the T-1000 in the final final confrontation.....

THOUGHTS 
 
After the sleeper success of the original Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgment Day had quite a bit to live up to, and for the most part it delivers on its promise in doing so.  At its time it was easily the most expensive film ever made, budgeting at just under $100 million dollars, and CGI just in its infancy, it proved to be one of the most groundbreaking visual films in the last 30 years or so, which paved the way for computer imaged based films since.  In fact its probably safe to say that alot of films CGI have paled in comparison ever since this film was released so that is saying alot for how good the effects are.  

Terminator 2 also is definitely one hell of a thrill ride as there are plenty of great action set pieces throughout the film, of which some of the highlights are the first scene where John is confronted by the two terminators at the mall, the scene where Sarah tries to escape the hospital and stumbles into the Terminator coming out the lift.  And of course one of the biggest set pieces is the police seige at the Cyberdyne building, with the Terminator using a mini-gun to take out the police cars (with zero human casulaties measured down to the decimal point! (i.e. 0.0).

And if there is one thing that has changed in the terminator universe in the 2nd film then that is the added morality of the T-800 terminator being re-programmed to protect John Connor, and John ordering it to not kill anyone, and all of a sudden the terminator has become a tamer version of its former self.  But that's not to say the terminator still doesn't do a fair amount of damage in the film, as he certainly does that, with him throwing people through windows, stabbing them in the shoulders, or kneecapping them with a gun, as well as blowing stuff up.  

WARNING: BIG SPOILER MENTIONED BELOW!

The terminator also takes on a father figure for John in T2 where its mission is to protect John, which helps bridge the gap of not having a dad in John's life, but in the end the Terminator admits to John that its something he could never do, in which is one of the film's rare poignant moments at the end when terminator gently consoles John, before he sacrifices himself by lowering himself into the lava pit in the steel mill. 

PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: this section may contain spoilers and strong language!)

As for the cast well things are pretty good here overall.

Starting with Edward Furlong as John Connor, he does a pretty good job as the young cocky upstart, who despite his mischievious youth, realises the importance of his future existance and he also starts to take on a commanding position later in the film.  Admittedly though at times Furlong can be a bit annoying little knob when he is being cocky, and telling the Terminator how to talk and sound cool among people, "and if you really wanna shine them on, then its "hasta la vista, baby!", but overall he does his part well.   

Furlong also has some amusing moments such as the scene where John twigs that the Terminator has to obey his commands as the Terminator grabs him after telling its not a good idea to rescue Sarah from being killed by the T-1000. 

So, in the scene, the Terminator says to John "The T-1000's next best chance of success would be to copy Sarah Connor and wait for you to contact her" and John asks "What happens to her?" and the Terminator says "Typically the subject being copied, is terminated". John shocked then shouts "Shit! Why didn't you tell me?! We have to go there right now!!". The Terminator then grabs John and says "Negative. It's not a mission priority" and John angrily hits him and says "Well, fuck you! She's a priority to me!" but the Terminator won't let go and John shouts "What's your problem?! Goddamn it!" and he calls out "Hey get this pyscho off me! Let me go!" and the Terminator does so and John asks "Why the hell did you do that?!" and the Terminator says "Because you told me to". John then realises "You have to do what I say, huh?" and Termiantor says "Its one of my mission parameters" and John says "Prove it, stand on one foot" and the Terminator does so and John says "YES!". 

However, having called out, attracts the attention of two nearby jocks he tells one of them to "Take a hike, bozo!".  And one of the jocks says "Fuck you, you little dipshit!" and John says in response "Dipshit?!  You called "moi" a dipshit?" and he turns to the Terminator and says "Grab this guy!" and the Terminator grabs the jock by his hair, lifting him off his feet and John says "NOW who's the dipshit, you jock douchebag?!". However as the other jock tries to save him, the Terminator nearly kills the other one with a gun and John stops him and shouts "NO! Put that gun down NOW!!" which the Terminator does. So, as the two guys run off, John shocked says "Jesus, you were gonna kill that guy!" and the Terminator says "Of course. I'm a terminator". John however tells the Terminator "But you just can't go round killing poeple?" and the Terminator asks "Why?" and John "Because you just can't OK? Promise me on this!" and then he tells him "I'm gonna go and get my mom and I order you to help me!".  

Another good scene is when the Terminator tries to fix one of the jeeps and John talks to him about growing up with Sarah on the road. So, John says of Sarah and her brief relationship with Kyle Reese (his father) "She still loves him I guess. I see her cry sometimes, but she totally denies it of course, like she's got something in her eye". The Terminator then looks up and asks John "Why do you cry?" and John says "I don't know. People cry, you know, like when it hurts". The Terminator get's up from under the jeep and asks "Pain causes it?" and John says "No, its like their is nothing wrong with you but you're hurt anyways. Get it?" and the Terminator says "No" and he tries the jeep and it starts up and John excited says "Alright, my man!" and Terminator says "No problemo". Then John tries to teach the Terminator how to do a high five and says "High five me! Alright!" and John does it first but the Terminator then high fives him back and John winces in pain "Alrighhhtt!". 

Then there is the scene where John and ther Terminator having seen Sarah drive off abruptly, check the carving she made on the table that says "No fate". So, John says to himself "This is a messsage I made to memorise to give to her. So, the whole thing goes...the future is not set, there is no fate except what we make for ourselves". The Terminator then suggests "She intends to change the future" and John says "Yeah..." but then it dawns on him "Oh shit!" and Terminator says "Dyson" and John shocked says "Yeah, gotta be! Miles Dyson! She's gonna blow him away!" and he starts to run off "Come on, let's go! Come on, let's go! Come on!". 

Then there is the scene where John and Dyson at Cyberdyne enter the safe and retrieve the original Terminator from the first film's cpu and remains of its hand. So, in the scene, John and Dyson enter the vault and Dyson tells John "Now to get that out all you need to do is..." and John suddenly smashes the containers open and takes them saying to Dyson "We've got Skynet by the balls now, don't we!  Come on, let's book!".     

And last of all is the scene where (SPOILER!!!) the Terminator decides that he must be destroyed as well after the T-1000 has been melted in the steel mill and John becomes very upset by this as the T-800 has been like a father figure to him. 

So, in the scene after Sarah says "Its over", Terminator says "No. There is still one chip" and he points to his head and says "...and it must be destroyed also". John looks shocked by this and says "No. No! You can't!" and the Terminator says "I have to go away, John" and prepares to lower himself by grabbing a chain that dangles over the steel molten pit. John then grabs him and tearfully says "I order you not to go! I ORDER you not to go!" and the Terminator gently touches his face and says "I know why you cry, but its something I can never do" and the two of them hug for the first and last time. 

Robert Patrick as the newly enhanced T-1000 model terminator is perfect, as he plays the terminator almost like a cat, who is very cool and detached, and his ability to move in a smooth and stealth like manner, suits his ability to play the part perfectly in the film.

Patrick also has some good scenes such as the one where the T-1000 pays a visit to John's foster parents and asks them "Are you the legal guardian of John Connor" and John's foster dad, Todd says "Yeah, that's right officer. What's he done now?" and T-1000 says "May I speak with him please?" and Todd says "You would if he was here, but he took off on his bike an hour ago". T-1000 then asks "Do you have a photo of John?" and Janelle says "Yeah, one minute" and she goes off to get the photo. Todd then asks "What is this about?" and the T-1000 says "I just need to ask him a few questions" and Janelle gives him the photo and he says "He's a good looking boy. Do you mind if I keep this picture?" and Janelle says "No, go ahead". Janelle then says "There was someone here earlier looking for him" and Todd says "Yeah, a big guy on a bike. Is that something to do with this?" and the T-1000 looks up and says "No. I wouldn't worry about him. Thanks for your cooperation". 

Then there is the scene where after John, Sarah and the T-800 give the T-1000 the slip, the T-1000 is approached by a police officer riding a bike. So, the officer stops to ask him "Are you OK?" and the T-1000 says "Fine" and looks at the bike "Say.... that's a nice bike!".  

And last of all is the scene in the steel mill where the T-1000 corners Sarah as she fumbles to load her shotgun and shoot him and he swiftly knocks the shotgun away and impales Sarah's left shoulder with his finger turning into a sharp knive. So, the T-1000 tells her "Call to John" and he twists his finger causing Sarah to groan in pain and he says "I know this hurts, Call to John" and Sarah tries to resist. The T-1000 looks at her again and says "Call to John now!" and she looks at him and says "Fuck you!".

Linda Hamilton also gives a fine performance once again as Sarah Connor, who by now has become half crazed by her nightmares, and being imprisoned in a maximum security hospital, when she desparately wants to protect her son and try and end the nightmare that would become Skynet.  

So, this time round the Sarah we see is a far cry from the one in the first film, as she has become a more hardened, physically stronger woman, Linda has her share of good scenes and amusing moment in the film comes in her first scene where she is doing pull ups in her cell and Dr Silberman, who is giving a tour of the hospital to some guests, say good morning to her through the speaker com, and she says "Good morning, Dr Silberman, how's the knee?" and Dr Silberman awardly says "Fine, Sarah".  

Then there is the powerful scene which albeit is basically a retread of Reese's rant in the original film where we see a playback of a video tape of Sarah telling Silberman of her nightmare of Judgement day.  And in the scene forewarns "Its not a dream its real!  I know the date it happens and on 29th August 1997 its gonna feel pretty fuckin real to you too! Anybody not wearing two million sunblock is gonna have a real bad day, GET IT??!!".  And she continues by shouting "You think your safe and alive? You're dead, him, you everybody!! Everything you see this whole place is GONE!  You're the one living in a FUCKING DREAM, SILBERMAN!  BECAUSE I KNOW IT HAPPENS!  IT HAPPENS!!!".  

Then there is the scene comes when Sarah tries to escape from the hospital and she knocks out one of the guards and hits Silberman's arm with a trunchoen.  And Silberman painfully says "You broke my arm!" and Sarah spits back "There are 215 bones in the human body, that's one!  Now don't move!" and she injects a syringe she stole into a bottle liquid drainer. Then as the scene continues, she holds Silberman hostage with the syringe pressed at his neck and she tells the staff to open the door to let her out. Silberman however weakly tries to persuade her to stop "You're no killer, Sarah, I don't believe you'll do it" but Sarah tells him "You know I believe it, Silberman. Everybody dies, so don't FUCK WITH ME!!".  

Then we have the scene where Sarah infiltrates Dyson's house to assasinate him as she is poised outside with a sniper rifle, aiming through a scope as she watches Dyson work on his computer. However, just as she is ready to pull the trigger, Dyson's son rams a remote controlled toy car into his leg and he bends down and Sarah misses and shoots Dyson's computer screen and she then proceeds to shoot up the place and shoot Dyson in the shoulder.

And as Sarah runs in and points her gun at Dyson and his wife and son she says "Nobody fuckin move!" and she points to Dyson's wife "Down on the floor bitch! FUCKING DOWN NOW!" and she tells the boy to back away, who covers Dyson. Sarah then shouts at Dyson "Its all your fault, motherfucker! Its all your fault!" and Dyson shaking violently, having been shot in the shoulder asks "What?" and Sarah trembling herself says "I'm not gonna let you do it!". However Sarah can't bring herself to kill Dyson and she backs off against the wall and slides down on the floor tearfully.

Then there is the scene just after, where the Terminator and John arrive and the Terminator lays down the future events caused by Dyson's research. So, in the scene, Sarah narrates "Terminator laid it all down for Dyson. Judgment day, Skynet. Its not every day you learn you are responsible for the deaths of three billion lives. He took it pretty well" and Dyson shocked says "I think I'm gonna throw up!". Dyson then says to them "You're judging me on things I haven't even done yet. How are we supposed to know?". Sarah then scornfully says "Yeah right! How are we supposed to know? Fuckin men like you invented the hydrogen bomb! Men like YOU, thought it up! Men like you have no idea how to create something all you create is death and destruction..." and John interrupts shouting "MOM! We need to be a little more constructive here. I mean we still have to stop this from happening, don't we?".

Last of all is the scene where the T-1000 stabs Sarah in the shoulder in the steelworks and tells her to call John. So, in the scene after the T-1000 stabs Sarah, he tells her "Call to John" and Sarah in great pain defiantly says "No!" and the T-1000 twists his metal finger knive in and says "I know this hurts, Call John!" and Sarah resists and the T-1000 produces another sharp from a finger on his other hand and says to her "Call to John now" and Sarah looks at him and says "Fuck you!". 

Earl Boen also makes another appearance as Dr Silberman, and he provides a fair bit of amusement as the smarmy criminal psychologist, who does everything he can to keep Sarah down.  

And I will mention two of Boen's scenes incuding his first where he is taking some people on a tour around the institute and he tells them about Sarah. So, Silberman says of Sarah "29 year old female, who suffers from acute case of paranoid delusions. She said that her son in the future said a soldier back in time to protect her from a robot that was going to kill her". So, they stop at Sarah's cell door and hits the button on the intercom as she finishes doing pull ups and he says "Morning, Sarah" and she turns around and says "Good morning, Silberman. How's the knee?" and he smiles and says "Fine Sarah". Silberman then turns to the people he is with and says "She stabbed me in the kneecap with my pen a week ago". So, after the people he is with walk away, Silberman says to one of the orderlies "I don't like how she is disturbing things like this, see to it she takes her thorizine". 

Then there is there is the scene Sarah tries to convince Silberman that her stories of the Terminator and the future were just fantasies in an effort to try and see John.  So, in the scene Sarah says to Silberman "Well, Doctor. I have shown improvement, haven't I?" Silberman replies "Well Sarah, here's the problem.  I know how smart you are and I don't think you really believe what you are telling me today and I think you are just telling me what I want to hear.  And if I put you in minimum security wing I think you will just try and escape again".  And after Sarah fails to convince Silberman she tries to throttle him, and he gets away as the staff move in to restrain her he looks to the video camera recording the interview, and he says sarcastically "model citizen!".

Jeanette Goldstein and Xander Berkeley are also both very good in their roles as Janelle and Todd Voight respectively, who are John's foster parents. 

And I will mention a coupe of their scenes, starting with their first one where Janelle tells off John for not cleaning his room but he is on his bike revving it in an effor to ignore her. So, Janelle goes back inside and complains to Todd, "I swear to God, I have had it with that goddamn kid! He won't even answer me anymore!". Todd however just sits there and Janelle complains to him "Would you get off your butt and help me? Todd?!" and Todd says "What?!!" and Janelle says "He hasn't cleaned that room of his in a month!" and Todd annoyed says "Jesus, its an emergency, I'll get right on it" and he goes outside to John, who is now on his bike. So, Todd says to him "John, come on get your ass back inside, do what your mother tells you!" and John looks at him and says "She's not my mother, Todd!" and he drives off.  

And lastly there is the scene where John calls home from a pay phone, and Janelle answers it but she sounds suspiciously nice to him. So, as they talk Janelle says "John, where are you? I've been so worried!" and John covers the phone and says to the Terminator "Something's wrong, she's never this nice!". And in the background of Todd and Janelle's household, we hear the dog barking and Todd says "What is that goddamn dog barking at?" and he shouts at it "Hey shut up, you worthless piece of shit!" and John back on the phone looks worried "The dog is really barking". Todd then says to Janelle "I thought you told the kid to get rid of that fuckin mutt!" and we then see Janelle change phone hands and she pushes her right hand out and we hear noise and she says to John "John sweetheart, don't be long". The Terminator then takes the phone and asks John "What is the dog's name?" and John tells him "Max" and the Terminator asks "Janelle, I can hear Wolfie barking. Is he OK?" and Janelle says "Wolfie is just fine, sweetheart, he's fine. Where are you?" and the Terminator hangs up and tells John "Your foster parents are dead". And we cut back to see that Janelle has indeed been copied by the T-1000 who has stabbed Todd through his mouth with his arm formed into long metal shaped blade and he pulls it ot and Todd falls down dead, and the T-1000 morphs back into himself.

Joe Morton is also excellent in his role as Miles Dyson, the director of special projects at Cyberdyne systems, who unbeknownst to him, would go on to become the man who spurned Judgment day. 

So, I will mention a few of his scenes starting with the one where one of Dyson's staff tells him ne needs to sign out an order. So, the staff member asks Dyson "I wanted to ask you something" regarding the terminator's arm remains from the first film "Where did it come from?" and Dyson tells him "You know I asked them that very same question one time and you know what they said? Don't ask". 

Then there is the scene where after Sarah fails in her atttempt to assassinate Dyson, John and the Terminator arrive and the Terminator shows Dyson his robotic arm and later the future events after Judgment day. So, in the scene Dyson looks shocked and says "I feel like I'm gonna throw up. You're judging me on things I haven't even done yet. How are we supposed to know?". And after Sarah has a go at him, John says they have to be more constructive and they still have to change Judgment day from happening. 

Dyson's wife however suggests "But aren't we changing things right now? Changing the way it goes?" and Dyson says "That's right. No way I'm gonna finish the new processor. I'm out, I quit Cyberdyne tomorrow" but Sarah tells him "Thats not good enough" and the Terminator says "No one must follow your work". Dyson then says "OK, well then we have destroy all my files at the lab, everything. Everything. I don't care. Do you know about the chip?" and Sarah asks "What chip?" and the Terminator says "The cpu from the first terminator" and Sarah angrily says "Son of a bitch! I KNEW IT!". Dyson then says "They told us not to ask where they got it" and Sarah angrily says to herself "Those lying motherfuckers!" Dyson then becomes more animated as he tells them about the chip "It was scary stuff, radically advacned. It was shattered, it wouldn't work. But it gave us ideas, took us in new directions. Thing we would never..." and he stops as he realises he is getting carried away and says "All my work was based on it". 

And last of all is the scene where Dyson and the trio of John, Sarah and the T-800 arrive at Cyberdyne labs and place explosives around the lab and destroy his own work. So, in the scene Sarah says to John "Get started on the door" and to Dyson "Miles, hand me the detonator". However, as Dyson goes for it, the doors open and SWAT arrive and open fire and Dyson is shot several times and falls down with the detonator still in his hands. So, a few minutes later, the SWAT team move in and find Dyson dying and gasping for breath as he holds the detonator over a trigger and says desperately "I don't know how much longer I can hold this!" and the police scarper just before Dyson dies and drops the detonator on the trigger causing a massive explosion. 

And finally we have of course Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator (or T-800 or if you like, the OG model!) and once again he is terrific at playing the cyborg, and his terminator in this film becomes a more humanised version of the remorseless killer in the original.  And there is plenty of room for humour in this film, where the terminator learns from John Connor how to adapt and ape human behaviour, as well as pick up phrases from him such as "hasta la vista baby" and "chill out, dickwad".  

Arnie has plenty of great scenes such as his opening one where the T-800 walks naked into a bar and analyses the customers and spots a biker who is a perfect match for his clothes size and he simply asks the biker "I need your clothes, your boots and your motorcycle".  And as the whole room erupts with laughter the biker says "Hey, you forgot to say please!" before making the mistake of stubbing out his cigar on the T-800's chest.  

Another good scene is when John asks the T-800 to swear to promise not to kill anyone when they arrive outside the psychiatric hospital. So, John tells the Terminator to stop and he asks "Why do we stop now?" and John says "Now remember our promise right?" and the Terminator asks "What?" and John says to him "Just put up your hand and say "I swear I won't kill anyone" and the Terminator does so. So, as the Terminator drives the bike up to the gate, one of the security staff comes over to them and Terminator takes out his gun and shoots the guard in one of his kneecaps and takes his gun and hits the button at the barrier to let them in and he says to John after "He'll live!".

Then there is the scene where the T-800 drives his bike with John on the back and he tells him about the T-1000 and the T-800 warns John not to go back to his foster parents house.  "Negative.  The T-1000 will definitely try and reacquire you there?" and John asks "Are you sure?" and the T-800 almost sarcastically says "I would".

Then we have the scene where the T-800 subdues a bunch of armed cops at the Cyberdyne building while taking heavy gunfire to his chest and face. So, as the Terminator approaches them, he caps the officers in the knees with his gun, but before he does he says to John and Sarah "Stay here. I'll be back". Afterward he goes outside and fires several rounds of tear gas to incipacitate the police officers and he goes up to one takes their mask and says "Here hold this!" and gives him the smoke grenade launcher and gets into a police truck, and as he is about to hotwire, he remembers John earlier telling him to look under the sun flap and he finds the keys there.  

And last of all there is the final showdown at the steelworks plant which starts with the T-1000 suffering the effects of colliding into liquid nitrogen its body starts to freeze and crumble and the T-800 aims his gun and says "Hasta la vista, baby!" and shoots, blasting the T-1000 into a thousand pieces.  And.... (SPOILER!) after the T-800 finally destroys the T-1000 by firing a grenade launcher shell at it, blowing it apart it falls into a pit of molten lava and dissolves.  And the T-800 afterward wearily says "I need a vacation" but then says "There is still one more chip and it must be destroyed also" pointing to his head.  And as John tearfully begs him not to go the T-800 says to him "I now know why you cry.  But its something I can never do".        

DIRECTION AND MUSIC

Finally getting onto the film's director, there is not much doubt that James Cameron has done an excellent job with T2 and he keeps the film zipping along at a fairly quick pace and he is no stranger on how to shoot a great action sequence and T2 has plenty.  Cameron also confidently handles for the most part the story's characters and manages to elicit some pretty good performances from the cast although I've already mentioned them so I won't need to again.  Music wise the film also features a fine score by Brad Fiedel who of course did the music for the original Terminator film and in this film he expands on the score from the original and manages to make it sound bigger and better than the first one.  

FLAWS 

As for T2's flaws...... well yeah OK it has a few.

So, to start off it has to be said that one of the main ones for me is Linda Hamilton's mostly cringeworthy narration, which is for the most just embarrassing to listen to.  An example of which is the scene where Sarah watches John with the terminator who tries to make him learn human phrases and give a thumbs up, and she says "In an insane world, it was the sanest choice".  Also the her final line is probably the worst where she says "Because if a terminator can learn the value of human life, maybe we can too!".  God!!!!!!

The tone of T2 is also alot more cheesy overall than the fairly straight dramatic tone of the original, and it allows for some pretty corny moments, especially with the young precocious John and his young friend with the mullet hairdo (despite the fact this film was made in 1991, they still hadn't quite yet got out of the 80s!) saying "cool, piece of cake!" etc etc.  And in regards to the director's cut of the film while most of the additional scenes are good there are some corny ones too such as the one with Dyson's family, as he is so obssessed with his work, his wife comes in and reminds him "why don't you make time for your other babies!" as his kids peep their heads round the corner and race into the room its like something out of a TV advert!

The film also falls foul to that rather annoying tradition in action movies of its time where they keep referring to dialogue from the original film such as Arnie saying "stay here I'll be back!" or the T-1000 saying "Get out", which Arnie said in the first Terminator film when he tells a truck drive to beat it out the tanker.  And I also can't forget the one line where the T-800 having rescued Sarah from the hospital guards and says to her that immortal line uttered by Reese in the first film "Come with me if you want to live".  Yeah its a very bad trend and as the series went on it got worse by the time we got to the incredibly medicore Terminator Salvation it reached fever pitch!   

Another issue stems from the casting of Edward Furlong which in terms of his age was a bit miscast as John in the film was supposed to be 10 years old, yet Edward Furlong was 13 at the time and clearly looked a bit too old to play the part.  So in that respect Ed looks less than believable as a 10 year old boy and if he was 10 than he would clearly be pre-pubescent and his voice wouldn't have broken but this clearly is the case with Ed here!  But this purely boils down to an issue with the age of Furlong himself and of course there are plenty of other actors who were cast in films who were much older than they were supposed to be, e.g. Malcolm MacDowell in A Clockwork Orange who at the time of making the film as 27 but he was playing a 15 year old.

Further to this point, there is also an issue with Sarah's age, as Silberman says she is 29 years old, which given the film was set in 1995 would mean Sarah was born in either 1965 or 1966. Now, that would mean that Sarah was only 19 when she gave birth to John, which suggests that the events of the first Terminator film meant she was only 18 at the time. However, you'd imagine that surely Sarah would have been a bit older in the first film, at least in her earlier 20's and not just 18, plus she was getting in nightclubs without ID and are they not supposed to be for people aged 21 or over??? Anyway just a thought and one that doesn't quite sound right in terms of Sarah's appearance in the first film.

Another problem I have with the film is to do with the Terminator's lack of understanding of human behaviour as on one hand it says it has detailed files of human anatomy but it also has to ask what is wrong with John when he sees him cry at one point during the film.  Now this is a flaw because in the film the Terminator clearly must know something about human behaviour as it knows how to lie and that is pretty much without any of John's future tutelage for the T-800 on how to do sarcastic putdowns etc.  And a lie is of course part of human behaviour and if the T-800 knows that he/it must have some understanding of human emotion and crying, so clearly I think its a bit crap in the film when the T-800 doesn't recognise this. 

Then there is a continuity flaw within the series, as when at the end when the T-1000 is destroyed and the T-800 sacrifices itself by being lowered into the steel mill lava pit, doesn't this mean that Skynet will no longer exist? As if the only two surviving terminator cpus, are the one which came from the first terminator as well as the remains of its skeletal arm, which Dyson used for his research, and the one inside the T-800 in this film, once they are destroyed along with Dyson's research at Cyberdyne, does this not change the timeline and thereby Skynet will be pre-emptively aborted?  Because if Terminator 3 is anything to go by then this certainly isn't the case, as it would appear the destruction of the two cpus and the cyborg arm, would only postpone judgment day, and the hellish future world will still remain the same.  And this is where the whole logic of the timelines becomes blurred, and in that regard it was something that was done that bit better in Back to the Future!

But further to this point if you look closer at the scene where the T-800 and T-1000 fight each other at the steelworks plant and the T-1000 pushes and thereby jams the T-800's hand into a large gear in the next scene the T-800 uses a crowbar to snap off his hand to free himself from the gear.  Now.... by doing this the T-800 had left his severed mechanical hand behind and in doing so he ensured that Skynet will still exist in the future as he had neglected to pick up his own hand and throw it into the lava himself.  

So this means that investigators searching place were sure to find the T-800's hand and from there it would doubtless find its way into the hands of more government scientists and before you know it, voila!.... we have Skynet once again.  So in short, thanks T-800, you failed in your mission to prevent the creation of Skynet and from the worldwide genocide of Judgement day as it was always ensured that it would happen! ;-) 

So, that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

So, to sum up, Terminator 2 still remains a highly entertaining sci-fi action film after over 30 years later as well as one of the most groundbreaking films in terms of computer generated effects, as the T-1000's liquid metal effects still hold up really well to this day. The film also features some great action setpieces and James Cameron keeps the pace going nicely throughout and ramps up the tension as the film progresses. There are also of course some fine performanes from the cast as Arnie is perfect again as the re-programmed Terminator, and Edward Furlong makes a fine debut as John Connor, and Linda Hamilton also nicely reprises her role as Sarah Connor, plus Robert Patrick is perfect as the eerie and patient T-1000.

And despite some plot holes and minor flaws elsewhere, Terminator 2 still remains one of the most seminal and groundbreaking films of the 1990's. 

So, I will rate T2:

9 out of 10 

So, that's it for now and I might not make another post in time before Christmas, so I will wish you all a Merry Christmas just now and see you back on here with another one before the New Year. 

So, until then have a good one! 

Total Recall Review (Revisited) "Get your ass to Mars!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, its time for another post revisit and this one is on the sci-fi classic action thriller, Total Recall starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.

So, after 33 years, let's take another look and see how Total Recall fairs...

And the usual warning is coming...

PLOT SPOILERS ARE AHEAD 

STORY

Right so the story begins with the story's main protagonist, Douglas Quaid (Arnie) waking up from a nightmare as he was dreaming about being on Mars alongside a mysterious woman but in the dream he slips down a mountain and cracks open his space helmet, which results in him beginning to suffocate.  Quaid however has a decent normal life where he works as a construction worker and is married to the beautiful Lori (Sharon Stone).  Quaid says to Lori that they should move to Mars but she is discouraged by the idea and tries to convince him not to.  

Quaid then decides to go to Rekall, which is a company who provides implant memories of vacations and opts to go on a trip to Mars as a secret agent.  However during the procedure something goes wrong and Quaid becomes agitated and appears to reveal some repressed memories and he is sedated by the Rekall staff who also wipes his memory and put him in a taxi.  As Quaid comes round after he is dropped off he is suddenly met with his fellow worker and friend, Harry (Robert Costanzo) along with some other construction workers they lead him away at gunpoint but Quaid suddenly out of nowhere reveals he has superior fighting skills and he kills them and flees.  

Quaid returns home where he tells Lori of his visit to Rekall and how he killed the construction workers, which leads to Lori making a call to someone unknown.  Soon after Quaid is attacked by Lori who attempts to kill him with a gun but he soon disarms her and she admits that their marriage was a fake and his memories of their marriage were implants and his job was set up by an agency and she herself was sent by her boss, the corrupt Vilos Cohaagen (Ronny Cox).  Quaid then knocks out Lori and then leaves but is soon persued by one of the Cohaagen's henchmen, Richter (Michael Ironside) who turns out to be Lori's real husband but he manages to escape them.

Quaid afterward is given a suitcase containing money, gadgets, false IDs, a disguise and a video recording which is of himself except in the video Quaid calls himself "Hauser" and says that he used to work for Cohaagen but he found out about a precious alien artefact on Mars, which Cohaagen is after, so he had his mind wiped to protect himself.  Hauser tells Quaid to get to Mars and also remove a bug that was implanted in his head, which he does by using a special gadget provided in the suitcase and he flees just as Richter and his men arrive. 

And from here, Quaid travels to Mars where he must find a way to discover his hidden memories and stop his enemies...

THOUGHTS

There is not much doubt that Total Recall is one of Arnie's most entertaining films but it is also one of his most violent as well but it still manages despite that to be a fairly intelligent sci-fi action film which has no shortage of twists and turns.  The film itself is based on a story "We can remember it for you wholesale" by the legendary sci-fi writer, Philip K.Dick and at the time the writers of Alien and also of this film's screenplay, Ronald Shusset and Dan Bannon tried to get the book made into a film but to no avail.  

And after being taken to several studios and years afterward, Arnie himself was interested in the project and got the film production company, Carolco to buy the rights for the film and insisted that he star in it as well and also even managed to give himself rights to veto any member of the production and the studio (wow!).  After Arnie was onboard and negotiated his salary for the film he then approached Paul Verhoeven to direct the film having been impressed with him from seeing Robocop and the rest is history.

PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: this section contains spoilers and strong language!)

Performance wise Total Recall is actually pretty good overall even though Arnie as we all know was never and is never going to be the greatest Thespian on the planet, he still slips effortlessly into playing the role of Quaid and provides the usual wisecracks along the way as well as racking up a hefty bodycount.  

Arnie has his share of good scenes in the film himself such as the one where after having killed his co-worker Harry and some construction workers goes back to Lori and she says "Those assholes at Rekall have fucked up your mind! Youre having paranoid delusions!" and Quaid shows her his bloody hands "You call THIS a deluison?!".  And in the same scene after they fight, Quaid holds a gun to Lori who nervously says "You wouldn't shoot me, would you Doug?  After all we've been through" and Quaid considers it and says "Yeah some of it was fun!" and he punches her knocking her out cold, he takes his jacket and leaves saying "Nice knowing you!".  

Then there is the scene where Quaid goes to an abandoned building and opens the suitcase he was given and plays a video of himself or "Hauser" and Hauser says to Quaid "Well howdy buddy. If you're watching this video, then I assume I am talking to myself and you've got a wet towel wrapped around your head. Now get ready for a big surprise. You are not you anymore.  You are me!" and Quaid says "No shit!". And as the scene carries on, Hauser tells Quaid "Right first off all, we need to get rid of that bug in your head. Just take the device out of the case and shove it up your nose, don't worry its self guiding" and Quaid nervously prepares the device and he shoves it right up his right nostril and Hauser says "Just shove real hard!". Quaid then painfully pulls with the device as his nose begins to bulge with the effort of pulling the bug out and Hauser says "Careful, its my head too!" and Quaid finally pulls out the bug and looks at it. 

Hauser in the video then tells Quaid "This is the plan. Get your ass to Mars, and go to the Hilton Hotel and flash the fake Brubaker I.D. at the front desk, that's all there is to it. Just do as I tell you. You can nail that son of a bitch that fucked you and me. I'm counting on you, old buddy. Don't let me down!".  

Another good scene comes when Quaid is visited Dr Edgemar on Mars who tries to persuade him to take the pill and that he is still at Rekall strapped into the chair and Quaid says "Ah I get it!  I'm dreaming!  And this all part of the wonderful vacation your company has provided!".  Dr Edgemar then tells Quaid "I'm afraid you've suffered a schizoid embelism and you are in a free falling delusion, which you are making up as you go". and Quaid asks "If this is my delusion, then who the hell invited you?" and Edgemar tells him "I've been artificially implanted to bring you down". Quaid then says "Let's say this is a dream" and he points his gun at Edgemar's head and says "..then I can pull this trigger and it won't matter". However as Edgemar gives him the pill and persuades him to swallow, Quaid notices a bead of sweat on Edgemar's head and Quaid shoots him dead and spits out the pill. 

Then there is the scene where Quaid is taken to Cohaagen after Quato has been killed and Cohaagen says to Quaid "Well, my boy, you're a hero!" and Quaid angrily says "Fuck you" and Cohaagen says "Now, don't be modest!". And as Cohaagen explains his convoluted plan to expose and kill Quato by using Quaid in place of Hauser, Quaid says "Well, Cohaagen, I've got to hand it to you. Its the best mind fuck yet!". Cohaagen then says "Don't take my word for it, an old friend of yours has something to say" and he plays another video of Hauser. 

So, Hauser in the video says "Howdy, Quaid. If you're watching this, that means that Kuato is dead, and you led us to him. I knew that you wouldn't let me down. Sorry for all of the shit I've put you through, but hey, what are friends are for? All I want to do is wish you happiness and good living, old buddy, but unfortunately, that's not gonna happen. You see, that's "my" body you have there, and I want it back. Sorry for being an Indian giver, but I was here first. So, adios, amigo and thanks for not getting yourself killed! Who knows? Maybe we meet each other in our dreams, you never know!" and he smiles as we see Cohaagen along side him.

And last of all there is the scene where Quaid fights Richter on a lift as the lift rises, Quaid hits him and leaves Richter dangling who grabs hold of Quaid's arms but as the lift rises over a structure, Richter's arms are severed and falls to his death and Quaid holds Richter's arms, throwing them away he shouts out "See you a the party, Richter!!".

Sharon Stone who was virtually unknown back then is excellent here as the seductive and dangerous Lori who poses as Quaid's wife but really is working as an agent for Cohaagen.  

Sharon obviously has some good scenes as well such her opening scene where Quaid wakes up from his nightmare and she comforts him but get's angry when she asks him about his dream with another women on Mars. So, she asks "Who is she?" and Quaid smiles and says "Lori, I can't believe you are jealous of a dream" and Lori asks "Who is she?" and Quaid says "Nobody" and she says teasinlgy "Nobody! Tell me who she is" and Quaid says "I don't know!". Lori then becomes annoyed and starts slapping him "Its not funny! You dream about her every night!" and Quaid says "But I'm always back in the morning!" and Quaid grabs her and says "Come one, baby, you know you're girl of my dreams" and they kiss and she says to him as she undoes her top "I'll give you something to dream about!".  

And later on in the scene where Lori attacks Quaid she reveals to him the truth about himself as he holds her at gunpoint. So, Quaid says "Talk! I said talk!" and Lori gasps "I'm not your wife!" and Quaid says "The hell you're not!" and Lori says "I swear to God, I've only known you for six weeks, our marriage was an implant at the agency". And Quaid asks "My job, eight yours together?" and Lori says "The job's real, the agency set it up" and Quaid let's her go and says "Bullshit!". Lori get's up and says "I was written in as your wife to watch and make sure the erasure took" and she says "Sorry Quaid, you're whole life is just a dream" and Quaid asks "Well, if I'm not me, who the hell am I?" and Lori says "Beats me I just work here".  And then Lori follows it up by saying "You were the best assignment I ever had" and Quaid says "I'm honoured!" and Lori says "Are you sure you don't want to?  Just for old time's sake?  If you don't trust me you can tie me up!".  

And later on there is the scene where Dr Edgemar tries to persuade Quaid to take the pill and he shoots him dead instead which prompts Lori to say "Now you've done it!  NOW YOU'VE DONE IT!!!" which is a signal for Cohaagen's men to burst in and capture Quaid.  And in the scene Lori kicks Quaid in the face "That's for making me come to Mars!" and she then kicks him in the nuts "You know much I hate this FUCKING PLANET!" and kicks him again and he passes out.  

And then in her last scene there, Stone as Lori engages in a fist fight with Melina and as she is about to kill Melina, Quaid shoots Lori's knife out of her hand and she says to him "Doug, honey... you wouldn't hurt me, would you, sweetheart? Sweetheart, be reasonable. After all, we're married!" and she goes to shoot him and Quaid kills her with a shot to the head. Quaid smiles and glibly says to her "Consider that a divorcce!".

Ronny Cox who is great as the main antagonist of the film, Cohaagen who is a corrupt governor of the mining colony on Mars.  And Cox also has some great moments such as the one where he calls Richter to his office and he says to Richter "Richter, you know why I'm such a happy person?   Because I have one of the greatest jobs in the solar system. As long as the turbinium keeps flowing, I can do anything I want. Anything!  In fact, the only thing I worry about is, one day, if the rebels win, it all might end".  And then Cohaagen turns angrily to Richter and yells "AND YOU'RE FUCKING MAKING IT HAPPEN!!".  

Another good scene from Cox comes when Cohaagen is looks at Kuato's dead body and he says to him "So this is the great man!" and he pulls back the cover saying with disgust "No wonder he kept out of sight!".  And then there is the next scene where Cohaagen has Quaid and Melina placed in the implant chairs to have their minds erased and he says to Quaid "And you like Melina right?  Well, you get to fuck her every night!  That's right, she's going to be Hauser's babe!".  And Melina angrily says "I'll bust his balls!" and Cohaagen says "Uh-uh, Princess. We're having you fixed. You're gonna be respectful, compliant, and appreciative... the way a woman should be!" and she spits in his face!  

And lastly there is the scene near the end where Cohaagen tries to stop Quaid from activating the tirbinium reactor and he says to Quaid "In thirty seconds you'll be dead, and I'll blow this place up and be home in time for Corn Flakes!". And as Quaid tries to touch the reactor, Cohaagen fires a warning shot at him and says "I wanted you to be Hauser, but no, you had to be Quaid!" and Quaid says to him "I AM Quaid" and Cohaagen "You're nothing! You're nobody! You're just a stupid dream! Well all dreams come to an end!".

Rachel Ticotin is also very good in her role as Melina, the woman of Quaid's dreams who eventually helps Quaid and falls in love with him as they fight together against Cohaagen.  

Rachel has some good moments in the film as well such as the scene where Melina meets with Quaid at the bar and she says to him "Hello Hauser.  Still bulging, I see" and she grabs his crotch and says "What have you been feeding this thing?" and Quaid says "Blondes" and Melina sexily says "Its still hungry!".  And after they go upstairs she get's him in a room and then she slaps him in the face saying "You son of a bitch!  You're alive?  I thought that Cohaagen tortured you to death!". Melina then kisses Quaid and says "Hauser, thank god you're alive!" but Quaid pushes away and says "Melina! I don't remember you or us!". Melina then says "Hauser you've lost your mind" and Quaid tells her "Now I'm Quaid. Douglas Quaid". 

Quaid then pleas with Melina to help him "Melina you've got to help me!" and Melina pushes him toward the door "Get out!" and Quaid points to his head and says "Hauser says there is enough in here to nail Cohaaegen for good!".  However as Melina pushes further and says "Get out!" and Quaid says "Melina, please! People are tying to kill me!" and Melina takes a machine gun and points it at him and says "Really?!" and Quaid says "Fine, I'm leaving!".  

And later on there is the big fist fight between Melina and Lori and after Quaid kills Lori, Melina looks up and says to Quaid "THAT was your wife?!" and Quaid nods and Melina get's up saying "What a bitch!" and Quaid shrugs as Melina get's up.  

Then there is the scene where Coaahgen has Quaid and Melina strapped into the machines where their minds will be altered and Melina defies Cohaagen's wish to have her turned into an obedient partner. So, Cohaagen says to Quaid "As for Melina, you get to fuck her every night. That's right, she's gonna be Hauser's babe!" and Melina says "I'll bust his balls!" but Cohaagen tells her "No, we're having you fixed. You're going to be appreciative, obedient, just like every woman should be" and Melina then spits in his face. However, after Quaid manages to free himself from the machine and kills Cohaagen's men, Quaid releases her from the machine and asks "Melina! Are you still you?!" and Melina dazed says "I'm not sure. What do you think?" and she kisses him and says "Let's get the hell out of here!".

And last of all there is the film's last moment (PLOT SPOILER!!!!!!!) where Mars has been saved by Quaid who turns to be Melina and says "I just had a terrible thought, what if this is a dream?" and Melina says "Well then kiss me quick before you wake up!".

And lastly we have Michael Ironside who is great in his role as Richter, Cohaagen's psychotic henchman and he appears to relish in his part.  Ironside is pretty much great as soon as he steps on screen and his first scene quickly sets the tone for his character as he runs in to check on Lori and one of his men goes to help her but Richter kicks the man aside and warns him "Don't touch her!".  

And in the scene after Richter fails to capture Quaid there is a good moment when Richter says "I want that fucker dead!" and his associate Helm says "I don't blame you, I wouldn't want Quaid porkin my old lady" and Richter threateningly says "You saying she liked it?!" and Helm teasingly says "No I'm sure she hated every minute of it!".  

And then there is the scene where Quaid is placed in the implant chair and Richter asks the doctor who is about to work on Quaid "Excuse me, doctor, but is he gonna remember any of this?" and the doctor says "Not a thing" and Richter smiles saying "Oh really?" and he punches Quaid hard in the face.  And as Cohaagen says to Quaid "Oh by the way I'm having a party tonight.  Why don't you and Melina drop by" and Richter grins saying "See you at the party!".  

And another good scene for Ironside comes when after Quaid escapes from the implant process, Richter goes into Cohaagen's office and says "You have to make a decision, sir" and Cohaagen ponders and finally says "Kill him!" and Richter smiles and cocks his gun saying "Its about goddamn time!". Richter then leaves hurriedly and Cohaagen angrily kicks over a fish tank, which cracks open with all the fish swimming about on the floor.   

DIRECTOR AND MUSIC

And now for the director and music starting with the film's director Paul Verhoeven who has done an excellent job with the film and when it comes to making compelling violent action films he is second to none (well he was back then anyway!).  Verhoeven also keeps the action and the pace going pretty thick and fast so the film is never in any danger of lagging and he also manages to get some pretty good performances out of his cast (well most of them!).   

As for the film's music it features an excellent score by the late and great Jerry Goldsmith and the film's main theme is a memorable one also.  Goldsmith also nicely blends in some orchestral and electronic arrangements into the score and it features some excellent tracks (especially the chase scene music for Quaid near the start and the theme where Quaid "opens his mind" to Kuato). So, overall it provides the perfect tone for the film with a good mixture of atmosphere and suspense.

FLAWS

Right as for the flaws.......well yeah OK Total Recall has some problems. 

For starters I would say one of the problems I have with the film is its over the top violence which is quite extreme at times.  And even though it is never really disturbing there are some moments where it can make the viewer uncomfortable but at other times laugh out loud (especially when in one scene Quaid jams a crowbar through the head of one of Cohaagen's scientists!).  But one such example of the film's violence being over the top and unpleasant is in the scene when Quaid uses an innocent bystander on a moving escalator as a human shield, who proceeds to get shot to pieces as Quaid uses him for cover to take down Richter's men.  Its always been the one violent scene in the film that I felt went just that bit too far but then again in Verhoeven's mind you can never go too far, morely a case you can never go far enough no doubt!

Another thing that bugged me was some of the special effects are a bit naff looking especially the rather pointless scene where Quaid tries to disguise himself as a women using a special body suit and a face mask, which starts to malfunction and he is forced to deactivate it and reveal himself.  But it begs the question???  Why didn't he just change his clothes and wear a baseball cap and some shades or something???  Or even shave his head??!!  Achh well.

The visuals of the film also look a bit ugly at times, especially the Mars sequences which have some a drab colour palette (well it is Mars I guess!) but in future films such as The Martian, they succeeded in at least making Mars look a bit more pleasing to the eye but here it is pretty ugly (but I guess that was maybe the point).   

Then there are some annoying inclusions in the film such as the Johnny cabs, which are just a daft idea of having a friendly robotic cabbie automatically driving the cab for passengers (voiced by Robert Picardo). In fact the moment where Quaid yanks out the Johnny cab robot and self drives it himself has that silly moment where it says "Fast your seat belt!" and "We hope you enjoyed the ride!". 

Another thing was although I never read the short story by Philip K. Dick I would however imagine that the original story was probably aimed to be a bit more cerebral than it ended up being here and as such I think while Verhoeven has made a good solid sci-fi action film, he also has somewhat dumbed down the concepts a bit as well to make room for the film's mindless violence.  And if that is the case with the story then it in itself is a bit of a letdown as it would have been good if the film had a better balance of its clever ideas as well as the action involved too, but here it has to be said its probably 80% action and 20% ideas.  But again I guess they needed to make the film more accessible to a mainstream audience and with Arnie involved you would always get your fair share of violence anyway.

Anyway that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

So that's it for my look at Total Recall which is still a very enjoyable sci-fi action film and its hard to believe that its been out for 33 years already!  And it has to be said that even though the film has its share of cheesy moments and a rather excessive level of violence its still one of Arnie's strongest films and it still is worth a look after three decades on from its release.

So, I will rate Total Recall:

9 out of 10

So, that's it for this one and I will be back soon with another post hopefully before Christmas.

Until then get your ass to Mars! ;-)

Resident Evil 4 Remake Review

 

 

 

 

 

 

So folks as we are now into December, I figured its time to do another review before Christmas and this one will be on a video, which is Resident Evil 4 Remake, which is a remake of the acclaimed 2005 original. 

So, how does it compare to the original? Well, let's take a look and find out...

STORY

So, as for the story, I will mention briefly what it is about, as it follows Leon Kennedy, a former cop, who is now a US government agent, who is given the assignment of rescuing the President's daughter, Ashley, who has been held captive in a village in rural Spain. On arriving in the village, Leon is soon attacked by the villagers, who have been infected with the Las Plagas parasite. Leon himself is soon captured the village head, Mendez, who injects Leon with the parasite but Leon manages to escape along with the help of Luis, who once worked for the Umbrella corporation. 

Leon soon rescues Ashley, who has been infected with the parasite also and together they must try and find a way to cure themselves and stop whoever is behind the mysterious cult that controls the infected villagers. But along the way, Leon and Ashley also find help in the form of one of Leon's former acquiantences, the mysterious Ada Wong, who is after something for an old foe...

THOUGHTS

As a remake, Resident Evil 4, is a terrific update of the original game, which excels on just about every level in terms of its presentation, visuals and its storytelling. The game also keeps the humour of the original too with Leon's quips still in tact with the most famous being when all the villagers vanish after they attack him as they heare the chime of a bell and after they leave, Leon asks "Where did they all go? Bingo?!". It also does a fine job at restaging the action scenes from the game and keeping everything that bit tighter in terms of pacing as the game clocks in at around 17 hours as opposed to the 25 hour run time for the original. In short, the remake really does build very impressively on the acclaimed original in just about every way.

GAMEPLAY

As for the gameplay, I will do my usual and split it into sections as below.

WEAPONS AND COMBAT

Starting with the weapons, Leon has a good selection of weapons to choose from here as there is a mix of handguns, shotguns, machine guns, assault riles, sniper rifles and of course the classic rocket launcher. You can also assign shortcuts in the inventory system for different weapons, so Leon will have easier access to them. He will also have access to other weapons such as grenades, flash bangs as well as combat knives. Leon can also craft ammo from resources found such as gunpowder to create different types of ammo such as handgun bullets or shotgun shells.

As for the combat, Leon will generally rely on gunplay and shooting enemies but the game also has some new mecahnics as well. For starters, Leon can now move around as he shoots at enemies and is no longer stationary like in the original, Leon can also perform melee attacks up close and additionally, stealth kills with his knive when creeping up on enemies as well as counter attack them. 

MERCHANT "What are ya buying?!!"

As for the classic RE4 merchant, he returns here with his usual banter of "What are you buying?" and "What are you selling?" and has a large number of weapons and other items on sale for Leon. The merchant can also tune-up your weapons for you as well as repair broken combat knives (for a price of course!). You can also sell items back to him (generally at a reduced price) or valuable items you might have discovered as well as trade items as part of side quests to shoot down precious jewels. 

COMMANDING ASHLEY & PLAYING ASHLEY

In the game, similar to the original, Leon will also have give commands to Ashley to keep her safe, such as to stay back, or move up in order to avoid enemies. However you need to be wary of this, as leaving Ashley too long will likely get her killed, so its important to keep an eye on her. There are also sections of the game where you control Ashley as she helps Leon in moments where he has been trapped again similar to the original, or even moments where Ashley has to move levers or wheels to rotate or bring up platforms. 

PUZZLES

As for the puzzles in the game, they make their return once again, which for the most part aren't too bad but there are still one or two pretty annoying ones (especially that one with the muticoloured lights in the church!). The puzzles generally are designed to open doors to new areas, or obtain keys or other valuable items to progress further into the game. For once though, I have to say, I was able to solve quite a few of the puzzles whereas normally I tend not to be able to in Ressie games! ;-)

ENEMIES & BOSSES

As for the enemies, there is quite a varitey of infected enemies from the rural villagers, to the religious cult members (who are very creepy!) some of whom even sprout big tentacles out their heads and later on there are infected soldiers on the island. And the bosses in the game are quite memorable and include the intimidating Mendez, who turns into a giant tentacled creature who Leon fights in a burning barn. Then there is Ramon Salazar, who is a creepy little Spanish lord, who turns into something a bit more sinister later on and lastly there is the Krauser, who trained Leon as an agent, and later the two of them duel one another. 

HEALING ITEMS AND HERBS

As for healing items, simialr to the crafting ammo, you can create your own healing items using herbs that you discover. Generally speaking you will find green herbs that restore your health partially alone, however combined with red herds, they will restore Leon's health entirely. And this time there is the inclusion of yellow herbs, which when combined with green, will extend Leon's health bar beyond its initial rate. Leon can also heal his health fully via the use of first aid sprays, which can be found throughout the game and purchased from the merchant. 

GRAPHICS

As for the game's graphics, they look stunning as the game's environments are detailed and varied in design and it also has some great environmental weather effects on display for rain, sun or other conditions. The character models however are also where the visuals really standout as Leon, Ashley, Ada and Luis's models all look terrific and while not quite lifelike, they still are very impressive as are the models of the enemies and the bosses. In short, RE4 Remake looks superb here.

MUSIC

As for the music score it was written by Kota Suzuki, and overall is pretty good although I wouldn't say it stands out as strongly as the original score does but its still worth listening to albeit along with the game and not on a solo basis as much. 

FLAWS

As for flaws, does RE4 remake have any worth a mention??? Yeah there are one or two.

For starters, I think one of the issues with the game is Ashley's stay close or run away scheme, as it can easily get her into trouble and be killed easily, which can be quite annoying (but then so is she lol!). Also when she is attacked, she will fall down and you need Leon to pick her up in order to restore her health, which I thought was a daft way to restore her health. Why didn't they just give her some kind of health kit rather than relying on Leon to pick her up!

Also further to the point of Ashley, she is still pretty annoying like she was in the original, as she does alot of feeble screaming as she runs around like the typical damsel in distress. Ashley does have her moments where she is forced to be useful in order to pull levers or turn wheels to help Leon progress or to rescue him, which does she has some use I guess, but ultimaltey the remake coudn't quite not make Ashley that much better a character (well maybe a little!).

I also though the inclusion of Leon's breakable combat knife was a bit pointless in a way, as none of his other weapons has durability issues and this wasn't something appeared in the previous games, so I don't really know why they included it in here. So, for the sake of using to kill or block attacks from enemies, you have to eventually get it repaired for a few thousands pesos, it just seems a bit lame. 

You could also maybe argue the voice acting is a bit of a mixed bag, as the voice actors for Ada and Krauser are a bit disappointing in different ways. For starters, Ada Wong's delivery by Lily Gao, is pretty wooden for the most part and she barely puts any feeling into her performance at all and unfortunatlely she ended up taking a lot of flak for her performance, which was a bit unfair in a way because her performance isn't terrible by any means, its just a bit lacklustre at times. However as for the voice actor, who did Krauser, he was way more annoying in his delivery of his lines, as he sounds like an overexcited maniacal villain, unlike how Krauser was played in the original in a more calculated way. So, the voice acting certainly is pretty good for the most part but it still can be a mixed bag.

So, that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

So, to sum up, Resident Evil 4 Remake, is an excellent game and a very worthy re-imagining of the original back in 2005 with vastly superior graphics and finely tuned gameplay. The game's pacing is also a good bit tighter here compared to the original yet it still retains most of the original's action setpieces. And while there are some minor complaints regarding some control issues with Ashley and some of the voice acting, this is a still a top drawer remake and well worth looking at. 

So, I will rate RE4 Remake:

9.5 out of 10

So, that's it for now and I will be back soon with another post or two before Christmas.

Until then its bye for now!  

The Fugitive Review "I don't bargain!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, time for one last post of the month before December (if I can fit it in!) and this one will be on yet ANOTHER film from 1993 (as Cliffhanger was from 1993 also which I previously reviewed). And this one will be on a film I could have sworn I reviewed before but apparently haven't and that film is the movie version of the 1960's TV show, The Fugitive, which stars Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones. 

So, let's take a look at this film, which also is 30 years old now and see how it fairs...

And the usual waring is coming...

PLOT SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!

STORY

So, the film begins with vascular surgeon, Dr Richard Kimble (Harrison Ford) being questioned over the murder of his wife, Helen (Sela Ward) by Chigaco police and Kimble claims that his wife was killed by a one-armed man. The police however decide to pin the murder on Kimble as they question him and find his wife was worth a lot of money and he has scratch marks on him (from moving Helen) and there was no forced entry into the house. Kimble is soon put on trial where misinterpeted 911 call appears to indicate that Helen told the operator that Kimble was trying to kill her. Kimble is subsequently then convicted for the crime and sentenced to death by lethal injection.

On the prison bus enroute to death row, some of the passengers attempt an escape, causing the bus to crash down a ravine into the path of an oncoming train. Before the train hits however, Kimble manages to escape as does one of the other prisoners, Copeland (Eddie Bo Smith) but Kimble also manages to rescue one of the injured prison guards before the train destroys the bus. Kimble then afterward has his cuffs removed by Copeland, who tells him not to follow him, Kimble then flees for his life.

Not long after, Deputy US Marshal Samuel Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones) arrives at the scene of the derailment along with his team of Marshals and they launch a manhunt for Kimble. Kimble himself manages to sneak into a hospital where he treats his wounds, shaves off his beard and changes clothes before stealing an ambulance. Gerard and his team pursue Kimble as he soon abandons the ambulance in a tunnel and sneaks into a strom drain and the tunnels below that lead out to a dam. Gerard goes into the tunnels after Kimble and after falling into water, Kimble grabs Gerard's gun and tells him "I didn't kill my wife!" to which Gerard replies "I don't care!" and Kimble takes off. However, Gerard soon catches up to him (with a second gun) tells Kimble to get on his knees but Kimble escapes by jumping off the dam below. Gerard's marshals are convinced Kimble is dead but Gerard remains undeterred and determined to find Kimble, dead or alive.

And from here, Kimble and Gerard's game of cat and mouse really begins to heat up as Kimble tries to find out who was behind his wife's murder and evade the clutches of Gerard...

THOUGHTS

After 30 years, The Fugitive still remains an excellent thriller and a fine adaption of the TV series (well as far as TV show adaptations go I guess!). The film also makes great uses of its locations in Chicago and also has several impressive action setpieces with the bus crash and train derailment being done for real with no CGI and according to the film's director, Andrew Davis, was done in one take. The dynamic between Ford and Jones also works pretty well, with Ford playing the more serious Kimble, fleeing for his life against Jones's more humourful and tenacious Deputy Marshal Gerard, so it makes a good contrast in personalities.

PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: this may contain spoilers but I will try and keep this section from being too long!)

As for the performances, the cast are all on excellent form here.

Starting with Harrison Ford, who is excellent in his role as Dr Richard Kimble, a vascular surgeon, who's wife is murdered and he is falsely accused of the crime to be sentenced to death, but manages to escape his fate and goes on the run from the authorities. And Harrison does play the part quite straight and serious for the most part but he does allow for the odd bit of humour here and there at times.

And I will mention a few of Harrison's scenes starting with the one where the police question Kimble and as the questions continue, the police become more convinced that Kimble killed his wife. And in the scene as Kimble realises this, he expresses his anger and disgust. And he says to the officers "Are you suggesting I killed my wife? Are you saying that I crushed her skull and shot her??! How dare you!". And as the officers are about to question him again, Kimble shouts "When I came home there was a man in my house! He had a mechanical arm! You find this man! You find this man!" and he becomes tearful and says "He took everything from me!!". 

Then there is the scene where Kimble arrives at a hospital where he sneaks in and treats his wounds from the bus crash and shaves his beard and steals some doctor's clothes and proceeds to walk down the hall only to be stopped by a state trooper. So, the trooper says to Kimble "Hey, Doc. We are looking for a prisoner from that bus-train wreck a couple of hours ago, might be hurt" and Kimble asks "What did he look like?" and the trooper says "6'1, 180, brown eyes, brown hair. See anyone like that?" and Kimble smiles and points at himself and says "Every time I look in the mirror, pal, except for the beard of course!". However as Kimble makes to leave, the trooper says "Doc?" and Kimble nervously says "Yeah?" and the trooper indicates that Kimble's fly is unzipped and Kimble says "Thanks" and zips it up.

WARNING: PLOT SPOILER AHEAD!!

And lastly there is the scene where Kimble breaks into Frederick Sykes apartment (the one-armed man) and looks around for clues and then he calls Gerard, so they can trace Sykes location. So, Kimble says to Gerard on the phone "Do you remember what I told you in the tunnel?" and Gerard in his office, quietly and frantiaclly tells his team to trace the call "Yeah, I think it was noisy and I think you said that you didn't kill your wife". Kimble then says "Do you remember what told me?" and Gerard says "I remember you pointing your gun at me" and Kimble says "You said "I don't care"" and Gerard says "Yes, that's right, Richard. I don't care. I'm not trying to solve a puzzle here". However Kimble then says "Well, I am trying to solve a puzzle and I just found a big piece!" and he puts the phone down on the desk he sat at without hanging up.

Tommy Lee Jones next up is great in his role as Deputy Marshal, Samuel Gerard, who hunts Kimble endlessly in an effor to bring him back to justice but things take a series of unusual twists and turns as they go on. And Jones himself received an Academy Award for best supporting actor in this role and he has plenty of great dialogue and amusing lines to deliver here, most of which were suprisingly ad-libbed. 

Jones has plenty of highlights of course and I will mention a few of his scenes, starting with his first one where he takes over the investigation to hunt Kimble. And in the scene the local sherriff, Sheriff Raawlins gives up on pursuing Kimble, believing him to have not survived the bus crash, so Gerard says to him "Well shit, Sherriff, I'd hate to see your office flooded with calls, so I guess I'll just have take over your investigation". So, after he gives his jurisdictional rights to do so, the sheriff sarcastically says "Right! Gather around everyone, we're shutting it down and Wyatt Earp is taking over!" and Gerard says "Very funny! Wyatt Earp!". But then they find Kimble's leg chains and the prison guard says of Kimble looking at his picture "He might have got out". So, Gerard gives his orders to his team and the police officers and says "You're fugitive's nane is Dr Richard Kimble. Got get him!".

Then there is the scene where Gerard chases Kimble through the tunnels of the dam and he falls down a slipway and drops his gun in the water and Kimble picks up it and aims it at Gerard, who puts his hands up. Kimble then says to Gerard "I didn't kill my wife!" and Gerard says "I don't care!" and Kimble backs away and runs off through the tunnel but Gerard reveals he has a second gun and soon catches up with Kimble at the end of the slipway overlooking the drop below. So, Gerard pointing his gun at Kimble shouts "Put that gun down! Put that gun down! Richard, do you wanna get shot?!" and Kimble drops the gun and Gerard shouts at him "Right! Down on your knees RIGHT NOW!!". Kimble get's down and looks over the edge at big drop below and he decides to jump off much to Gerard's disbelief. And one of Gerard's men, Cosmo (Joe Pantoliano) joins him and Gerard tells him "Guy did a Peter Pan right off this dam, right here!" and Cosmo says "Holy shit! Now can we go home?" and Gerard shakes his head and says "No! No, no!" and walks off.

Then in the next scene as Gerard directs the search party to check the river for signs of Kimble, one of his marshals says to him "Sam, are you out of your mind? He's dead!" and Gerard says "That will make him easier to catch!". And one of the chief state troopers says to Gerard "Only one man in a million can survive that fall! The guy is fish food!" and Gerard says "OK, get a cane pole, catch the fish that ate him!".

And then there is the scene where Gerard and his team track down the other prison bus survivor, Copeland, who grabs one of Gerard's men, Newman and holds him at gun point and shouts out his demands but Gerard sneaks up from a side door and shoots Copeland dead. And afterward, Gerard goes out to check if Newman is OK, who holds his right ear, which is ringing from the gun shots. So, Newman tells Gerard "My ear is terrible. I can't hear anything. Can't believe you did that?" and Gerard says "You think I should have bargained with that guy" and Newman says "Yeah, I do. You could have missed". Gerard changes the subject and asks Newman "How bad is that ear?" and Newman says "Its terrible. I'm gonna have permanent hearing damage" and Gerard leans in near his bad ear and says "Can you hear me now?" and Newman says "Yeah" and Gerard whispers "I don't bargain. Can you hear that?" and Newman says "Yeah" and Gerard wraps a coat around him and walks off.

WARNING: PLOT SPOILER AHEAD!!!

And last of all is the scene where Gerard pursues Kimble through the convention center building where Nicholls was giving his speech, but is revealed to be the bad guy and the sneak around an empty laundry room. So, Kimble shouts out "Dr Richard Kimble! There is no way out of here! The whole building locked down!". However, Gerard then goes on to plead with Kimble and let's him know the truth of his wife's murder "Richard, I know you're innocent! I know about Frederick Sykes! I know about Dr Charles Nichols! Richard, he borrowed your car the night of the murder, he had your keys! No forced entry, Richard. He telephoned Sykes from your car, Richard! Richard, give it up! Its time to stop running!". And at this moment, Nichols grabs Cosmo's gun (after Nichols knocked him out with a beam) and appears behind Geard to shoot him and Kimble suddenly appears behind Nichols and knocks him unconsious with a lead pipe. Gerard aims his gun at Kimble and Kimble drops the pipe and says "They killed my wife" and Geard says "I know, Richard. I know it! But its over now" and he sighs "You know, I'm glad. I need the rest!". 

Jerone Krabbe next is excellent also in his role as Dr Charles Nichols, Kimble's good friend and work colleage, who isn't entirely what he seems to be as the film progresses. 

And Krabbe has a couple of good scenes I will mention starting with the one where Gerard first questions Nichols at his office. So, in the scene Gerard asks when he last saw Kimble and Nichols admits the truth "Alright, I last saw him this morning" and Gerard laughs "Where was this?" and Nichols says "Outside my tennis club". Gerard then asks "What did you help him?" and Nichols says "I volunteered but he wouldn't accept, I give him some money" and one of the marshals asks "How much?" and Nichols says "Just a couple of bucks, what I had on me". Gerard then says to Nichols "Doctor Nichols, if you really want to help him? Be his friend? Help us bring him in, unharmed". Nichols then asks "So, he can go back to prison?" and he tisks and tells Gerard "If you want help, gentlemen, then you've come to the wrong man. Richard is innocent, he's too smart, you'll never find him". Gerard and the other marshals all smiles a bit bemused "We're all smart. I mean smart can he be? Is he smart as you?" and Nichols takes a moment and says "Smarter!". 

And last of all is the scene where Nichols gives his speech at the convention center but is then interrupted by Kimble and Nichols smiles nervously at him and says "Richard, I am in the middle of this speech!". Kimble bitterly says to him "You almost got away with it, didn't you? I know all about it, I can prove it". Nichols tells the audience "Ladies and gentlemen, my friend Richard Kimble doesn't feel well. So, if you go on with your dessert and coffee, then I'll be right back. Richard, would you mind to step aside and we can just talk". However Kimble confronts Nichols infront of the crowd and tells them truth as Nichols walks off "He falsified his research. So, that RD-U90 could be approved and Devlin McGregor could give you Provasic!". And as Kimble follows Nichols into a room outside, Nichols smashes a chair over Kimble and shouts at him "You never give up, do you Richard?! You never give up!!". 

Andreas Kutsulas is also very good in his role as Frederick Sykes, who is a suspect in the murder of Kimble's wife and is a one armed man with a cosmetic arm. 

And I will mention one of his scenes, which is the one where he arrives at his apartment to find Gerard and his marshals waiting for him, who traced Kimble here after he called Gerard from Sykes's place. 

And in the scene, Sykes walks into his apartment, irritated by all the cops and marshals around him and he asks "What the hell is going on here?!" and Gerard says "You've had a break in, Mr Sykes. A fugitive, Richard Kimble broke in here and called us from your apartment, now why would he do that?" and Sykes says "I don't know any Kimble". Gerard's team have him show Sykes Kimble's picture and he realises "Right, Kimble? The guy who murdered his wife and kept blaming it on a one armed man with a prosthetic arm?" and Gerard asks "Did you?" and Sykes jokes "Well, yes I must have killed her, I have a prosthetic arm!" and Gerard laughs. Sykes then says "Give me a break. I went through all this last year, the police questioned me about. I wasn't even in Chicago that night, 15 people verified it! I was on a business trip". Gerard then asks "What is your line of work?" and Sykes says "Security. I work for a pharmacutical company" and Gerard asks "Which one?" and Sykes says "Devlin MacGregor. I handle security for all their top executives". Sykes then asks "You don't mind if I check and see nothing is missing?" and Gerard says "Go ahead" and then he asks "How did you lose that arm?" and Sykes glibly says "In the line of duty". 

Joe Pantoliano is also very good in his role as Cosmo Renfro, one of the US Marshals, who often wisecracks throughout the film.

And I will mention two of his scenes starting with the one where Cosmo at Cook county hospital where Kimble was sighted by a doctor (played by Julianne Moore) and he questions why Kimble was there. So, in the scene Cosmo says to Gerard "Right, here's what I don't get, Sam. Everybody is looking for Kimble right?" and Gerard says "Yeah" and Cosmo asks "Then why would he hang around a hospital, acting like he is Mother Teresa?" and at that moment, a man with a prosthetic arm walks past them, which catches their attention. 

And then there is the scene where Gerard and Cosmo appear at the convention center and question Nichols once again and show him a photo of Sykes and another doctor, Lentz. So, in the scene Gerard asks Nichols if he knows both men in the picture and Nichols says no. So, Cosmo says to Nichols "OK, Doctor and enjoy the rest of the convention" and Cosmo looks at the leaflet about Nichols speech and says "Advances in tissue and pathology research by Dr Charles Nichols". I bet they'd line up to hear this one!". 

Julianne Moore is also pretty good (and pretty!) in her role as the doctor, Anne, who works at Cook county hospital and later recognises Kimble, who pretends to be a janitor while acccessing info about prosthetic limb patients to track down the one-armed killer. 

So, I will mention two scenes with the first being the one where Anne confronts Kimble about the young boy he sends up for emergency surgery. So, Anne says to Kimble, who is trying to leave "Hey, do you have a particular interest in our patients X-rays?" and Kimble awkwardly asks "What do you mean?" and Anne says "I saw you look at that boy's chest X-Ray" and Kimble says "Its a hobby of mine". Anne however angrily says "Bullshit! What are your other hobbies? Brain surgery?!". Anne then firmly asks Kimble "I wanna know how that boy ended up in surgery? Who changed those orders?" and Kimble nervously says "I don't know what you mean" and Anne then realises who Kimble is and says to him "You stay right there!" and she takes his false ID card off him and calls for security and Kimble takes off.

And in her last scene, Anne speaks to Gerard who says to her "So, you find out he's Richard Kimble and all you do is take his ID card off him?" and Anne says "Look, I called for security and he took off down the hall. What else was I supposed to do?". Anne then says "Look, I've just finished a long shift, I'm really tired, can I go home?" and Gerard says yes and asks "How is the boy doing?" and Anne says "He saved his life" and she walks off, leaving Gerard a bit puzzled.

And last of all is Sela Ward, who is good in her role as Helen Kimble, Richard's wife, who is murdered by the one-armed man and Kimble is mistakenly convicted of the crime. I won't really mention any of Sela's dialogue however as she doesn't have too many lines that stand out that much other than in the scene Helen has been fatally shot and dials 911 just before she dies and says to the operator weakily "He's in the house...trying to kill me" and the operator "Did I hear you right? Someone is in your house?" and Helen gasps her last breaths and says "Richard....he's trying to kill me" and we see the killer's hand turn off the phone. 

DIRECTOR 

As for the director, Andrew Davis does an excellent job here with the film and his pacing of the film rarely ever lags and the action setpieces of the film are also very impressively staged and Davis had already previously directed Under Seige starring Steven Segal in 1992. Davis also makes good use of the locations in Chicago and even has one sequence where Kimble is chased into a busy crowd on St Patrick's day, which was actually shot on St Patrick's day itself in 1993. Davis on the DVD commentary also confirmed that alot of the dialogue was improvised by the actors, so its good that he gave them alot of freedom here. So, overall this is a very solid effort from Davis. 

MUSIC

Moving onto the music score, the score was composed by James Newton Howard and its a very good one and features some memorable themes, particularly the end theme aswell as some of the dramatic tracks where Kimble is being chased relentlessly by Gerard. Howard himself said he found it very difficult to score the film and was very surprised when it was nominated for an Academy Award at the 1994 oscars. 

FLAWS

As for flaws....yes the Fugitive isn't quite perfect and has a few.

For starters, I felt that the way the police investigation was handled of Kimble's wife's murder was pretty half-assed to say the least as the officers basically just went with the idea of Kimble being greedy and wanting his wife's money. They also thought that he had scratch marks and her skin under his fingernails (again when he tried to move her) was also sufficient enough to suggest he physically attacked her but clearly they seemed to have no interest in following up Kimble's claims of the one-armed killer. Although Sykes later on states that police approach him but at the same time, Kimble didn't even know who he was, so how did the police know to approach him in the first place??

Another issue is of course to do with the idea of Kimble being able to survive his jump off the dam, which he almost certainly would not have survived in reality and he most likely would have cracked his head open on the way down or died on impact of the water, or died some other way. Although the marshals do believe that Kimble is dead except Gerard, who stubbornly refuses to do so and somehow knows he's alive (that is some intuition he has there!).

You also have to wonder how Kimble could afford to keep getting new clothes as you see him change outfit quite a few times in the film. So, where does he get these clothes? Did he steal them or did he get money somewhere? Also,where would he have picked up money, other than the few bucks Nichols gives him earlier in the film. You could maybe argue that he somehow got paid for working as a janitor at the hospital but even that is a stretch, I mean how could he provide any details for payment, as he wouldn't have a clue of the real janitor's details and presumably his own cards would all be cancelled due to his conviction. So, yeah this all doesn't make much sense. 

Another scene that bugged me in the film was where Gerard shoots Copeland dead where Copeland holds one of Gerard's men, Newman, at gunpoint and Gerard sneaks up from a side door to shoot Copeland in the side of the head. However, when you look at the scene, Copeland and Newman are too near each other for Gerard to not shoot Newman as well and they are both so tight against the wall also you think there wouldn't be enough room for Gerad to get a clean shot at Copeland in the first place.

And last of all is the scene where Kimble barely escapes Gerard at the jailhouse as Gerard shoots at Kimble as he passes through the security doors and the doors are bullet proof and do not pass through. However in the scene, Kimble's foot is still trapped in the door and Gerard shoots a couple of bullets just to the right of his foot but why didn't Gerard simply shoot Kimble in his exposed foot and that way they could have captured him there and then! But no, Gerard decides to let Kimble flee but he had an open shot there to slow Kimble down and didn't take it.

So, that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

So, to sum up, The Fugitive remains an excellent action thriller, which features a fine cast and two fine performances from its leads with contrasting styles from Ford and Jones with the latter winning the Academy Award for best supporting actor that year at the Oscars. The direction of the film is also solid and Andrew Davis paces the film perfectly with hardly any lag in pacing and the action scenes are very impressive and suspenseful. The film's music score is also very good by James Newton Howard and features a memorable theme at the end credits as well as some other really good music tracks. 

So, after 30 years, I would definitely say The Fugitive still remains a fine thriller and well worth a look. 

And with that, I shall rate The Fugitive:

9 out of 10 

So, that's it for now and I will be back with another post in December at some point.

Until then, its bye for now!

 

Cliffhanger Review (Revisited Part 3!) "Keep your arms and legs in the vehicle at all TIMES!!"

 

 

 

 

OK, so figured its time for another movie review and this is YET another revistation of a revisit of a revisit of a revisit (3 revisits I think!). So, the film in question is 90's action thriller, Cliffhanger, starring Syvlester Stallone. Also since its the film's 30th anniversary this year, I figured why not give it yet another look.

So, with that said let's take once again another look at this Stallone classic...

And the usual is coming...

PLOT SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!

STORY

So the film begins with the main character, Gabriel "Gabe" Walker (Stallone) a mountain rescuer who is sent to pick up his friend and fellow mountain ranger, Hal (Michael Rooker) who is stranded with his girlfriend, Sarah (Michelle Joyner) up on a narrow peak in the Rocky mountains.  Hal manages to transfer himself on a steel cable line over to a rescue helicopter piloted by Jessie (Janine Turner) who is also Gabe's girlfriend.  However after Gabe fixes the harness for Sarah as she transfers over the line, the harness begins to break and she is left dangling on the line.  Gabe goes to rescue her and he grabs just as her harness breaks off but he loses his grip as her glove slips off, Sarah falls to her death 4000 feet below.

After this the story shifts to eight months later and Gabe returns to town since Sarah's funeral, and he is now racked with guilt and no longer climbs.  Gabe asks Jessie if she will come with him but she refuses to leave town as she says this is her home and she is annoyed at Gabe's insistance on feeling guilty over Sarah's death as she feels he did all he could.

Meanwhile the story moves to the US Treasury Department where treasury agent Richard Travers (Rex Linn) is assigned the task of transporting three suitcases of 30 million dollars via plane.  On the plane however Travers turns out to be a turncoat as he kills two of the other agents and wounds an undercover agent, Matheson (Vyto Ruginis) who twigs what Travers is up to.  Travers then get's in contact with another plane which is manned by a team of thieves lead by a former military intelligence member, the ruthless and pyschotic Eric Qualen (John Lithgow).

Travers arranges to transfer the cases by a zip line between the two planes and he goes over himself onto the other plane, however before the cases can be transferred (by Travers pilot who is in on it as well) Matheson shoots the pilot and at the thieves plane.  The agent is soon killed however as Travers has rigged explosives on the plane to blow, however as a result the zip line is broken and the thieves lose the cases which fall among the mountains.  The plane makes a crash landing and three of the group die as a result of the crash.

In the meantime as Gabe is about to leave, Jessie informs him of a distress call, which soon turns out to be from the thieves.  Gabe relucantly agrees to go and help find them and he meets up with Hal while climbing up the mountains, who is still angry at Gabe over Sarah's death for which he blames Gabe, but despite that they move on to the thieves location.

On arriving at the plane crash, Qualen and Travers force Gabe and Hal to help them find the cases which they agree to, however as Gabe helps them find the first one, they attempt to kill him but he manages to escape by cutting the rope he was tied to, just as one of the thieves causes a landslide by using a grenade launcher, one of their party is killed.  Gabe then continues to use his skill and knowledge of the mountain areas to try and keep ahead of them as he rejoins with Jessie they work together to try and find the remaining two cases.

Meanwhile Hal is forced to help Qualen's men and Travers find the remaining two cases, although unbeknownst to them he takes them the long way round to buy Gabe some time.  And from here its up to Gabe and Jessie to try and save Hal and find a way to stop Qualen's men and Travers from getting what they want......

THOUGHTS

After making a string of mediocre films during the late 80s and very early 90s such as "Over the top", "Cobra", "Tango and Cash", and "Stop or my mom will shoot!" not to mention the underrated but nonetheless panned "Rocky V" Sly returned to form here with Cliffhanger, which is still a very entertaining and suspenseful action thriller after 30 years.

It also sees a nice change from the cocky action heroes that Stallone had played previously to this as Gabe is morely an everyday good guy, who has to overcome his own guilt at failing to help save his best friend Hal's girlfriend from dying as well as confront his own fears and get back into climbing.

The setting of the film in the Rocky mountains in Colorado also allows for some spectacular scenery (in reality it was shot in the Dolomites mountain range in Cortina, Italy) and the high altitude sequences also add much suspense to the film and its a nice contrast to the city based action films so overly used today and even of that time.

PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: this section contains spoilers and strong language!) 

Performance wise things are pretty good in Cliffhanger.

Starting with Sylvester Stallone, who gives a pretty good account of himself in his role as Gabe Walker, the guilt ridden mountaineer who is forced into a situation where he must fight against a group of ruthless thieves.

Stallone also get's some good dialogue in the film and despite his character being less cocky and flashy then what we've seen from Stallone before, he still get's some good quips.  As for a few examples for starters there is the opening scene where Jessie asks Gabe whereabouts he is climbing as they search for Hal and Sarah and Gabe hanging by the rock face says "I'm just hanging out, Jess!".

And in the next scene Gabe teases Hal by revealing how Hal got the bandage on his leg by saying "Oh yeah I remember you twisted it when you got out of that hot tub!" and Sarah surprised says "I thought that was an old war wound from Nam!" and Gabe says sarcastically "Really??!".  Then Gabe says to Sarah "What do you say we take off and leave this clown (i.e. Hal) behind??!" so Hal then grabs Gabe's radio and warns Jessie that Gabe is making advances on his girlfriend and is liable to get his ass kicked off the mountain.  So, Jessie replies "Be informed Gabe makes advances to me only or he'll be climbing down alone and sleeping outside!" and Gabe replies "Baby, he lies!".

Another good scene is when Gabe escapes from Qualen and his men and he climbs up a mountain and reaches the top, however he is only wearing a T-shirt and jeans, so he is frozen and he barges his way into an old shelter, where Jessie already is.  So, Jessie runs over to tend to him and Gabe tells her "They've got Hal!  The distress call was a fake!".  Jessie then asks "Fake?  What do you mean it was a fake?" and Gabe tells her "Before they crashed, they dumped cases of money!" and Jessie asks "Who are they?" and Gabe says "I dunno.  They're using Hal to find it.  When they do, he's dead!".  So, Gabe chittering away says to Jessie "You gotta get on the radio and call Frank...and tell him to call the state police!" and he puts on an old ragged jumper that Jessie gave him.  Gabe soon calms down and get's his breath back and says to Jessie "Let's take everything we need. Let's move. We got to get to that next case before they do!".

Then there is the scene where Gabe and Jessie find a cave and rest at night while Gabe has made a fire and uses some of the suitcase money to keep the fire burning.  So, as Gabe throws on some money to the fire, he says to Jessie "It costs a fortune to heat this place!  Bad humour, I know." and the two of them snuggle up for warmth and he says "We better get some sleep.  We're going to need it".  

Another good scene comes when Gabe is confronted by one of Qualen's group Kynette (Leon Robinson) who asks him where the money is, Gabe replies "I burned it.  Never could save anything!".  And this leads into the next scene where Gabe get's his ass kicked by Leon who asks him where the money is, he weakly replies "Sissy!  You hit like a sissy!" but before Gabe turns the tables on Kynette.

WARNING: THIS NEXT PARAGRAPH REFERS TO THE END OF THE FILM!!!!

And lastly there is the scene where Gabe tells Qualen to meet him at the highest point of the mountain range in the helicopter and Qualen flies up there he sees Gabe and says to him on the radio "I must admit you are a real piece of work" and Gabe says "Yeah and I must admit you're a real piece of shit!".  So, Qualen points his gun at Gabe and says of the bag of money that Gabe has "Throw it up, or I'll kill her!" and Gabe says "You do and the cash is gone!  I want you to put her down!" and he points off to his left "Over there!" which Qualen reluctantly does so.  

And this leads into the climactic fight sequence where the chopper ends up going over the edge but it remains attached to a cable that Gabe fit to a rock ladder.  So as the two men fight, Gabe ultimately get's the better of Qualen and beats him up and shouts "Remember, shithead....to keep your arms and legs in the vehicle at all TIMES!!!" and he kicks Qualen, who falls back into the chopper, which plummets below and blows up taking Qualen with it.  And afterward, Gabe catches his breath and looks up and says to himself "I'm outta here!".        

John Lithgow is excellent in his role as the ruthless Eric Qualen, the leader of the thieves, even though he hams it up and puts on a rather questionable English accent, he is quite effective and creepy as the main villain.

And Lithgow has his share of good moments that include the scene where at the start of the hijack of the FBI treasury plane, Travers slides down a zipline to join Qualen and his team on their plane.  And Qualen annoyed asks him "Why didn't you send the money first???!!" and Travers says "Somehow I didn't think you'd wait for me if I sent it first!".  However as their plan goes awry due to one of the surviving FBI agent's shooting Qualen's plane (just before the agent himself is blown up by the charges set on the FBI plane by Travers) they lose the cases of money, which falls thousands of miles below to the surface.  And Qualen says to Travers "So, this is your idea of a foolproof plan?!  You stupid bastard!". 

Lithgow also get's some other good lines of dialogue such as when he first meets Gabe and Hal who ask what is the suitcases and he says "Suits, socks, 30 million dollars, the usual stuff!".  Then Qualen takes Gabe and Hal into the plane and Travers shows the locations of the three cases transponders and Qualen asks them "Do you recognise these locations?".  However after Gabe and Hal say nothing, Qualen warns them "Let me jar your memory. It you don't recognize them, you're useless. Useless items are usually discarded. Right, Travers?!".  Travers annoyed by this responds "Get off my back, Qualen!" to which Qualen says "Off?  I haven't even got on it...yet!". 

Then there is the scene where the two young skydivers, Brett and Evan encounter Qualen and his men with Hal.  And Qualen says to Hal "Walk over" and as Hal pleads with Qualen to leave them alone Qualen says "We're not animals.  Don't force us to be.  Walk over!".  However after Hal yells at Brett and Evan to run for it, Brett is gunned down and Evan just makes it as he dives off the mountain with his parachute.  Hal afterward angrily says to Qualen "You murdering motherfuck!" to which Qualen responds "Kill a few people they call you a murderer.  Kill a million and you're a conqueror.  Go figure!  Move on, Tucker!  Time is short!".

Then there is the scene where Travers attempts to radio in his own people for a chopper as he is afraid to go over a rather precarious looking foot bridge. So, Qualen grabs him and says "You don't get it, do you?!  We're in bed now, joined at the hip, partners in crime!  You've crossed over, Travers, and there's no turning back" and he moves toward the bridge.  

Lithgow's most potent scenes comes when he actually kills his own girlfriend, one of the thieves, Kristel (Caroline Goodall) in an attempt to force Travers to help them find their money (with the use of a tracking device).  And in the scene he grabs Kristel and whispers in her ear "Do you know what real love is, Kristel?  Sacrifice!" just before he shoots her and he says to a shocked Travers "Now I'm the only one that can fly us out of here!  We're partners again". So Qualen throws the tracking device over Travers and angrily says "Now take your toy and find our money!" and he throws Kristel's body aside and he sits down in the chopper and says "Radio me when you find it.  I'm waiting here!".   

And last of all is the scene near the end when Qualen get's a surprise radio call from Gabe and he says "Walker!  You resilient bastard, so you are still alive!".  And as Qualen holds Jessie hostage in the helicopter he says to Gabe "You get the picture, Walker.  I wan't that money.  Meet me at the highest point from where you are, or else I'll find it this little angel of yours can fly!" to which Gabe agrees.  And afterward, Qualen says to Jessie "Love's a killer, isn't it?".

Michael Rooker is also pretty good as Gabe's good friend, Hal, who at first holds a grudge against him, but he quickly put his differences aside as he tries to help Gabe escape whenever he can, by slowing down the thieves as he guides them to their cases.  And its good to see Rooker, who usually plays the bad guys in his films, play a good guy for once.

And Rooker has his share of good scenes in the film such as the one where at the start of the film, where Hal and his girlfriend, Sarah, are rescued by Gabe as they were stranded up on a mountain (well sort of saved!).  And in the scene Gabe sort of hits on Sarah and Hal grabs his radio and says to Jessie "Please be advised that Ranger Walker is making advances toward my girlfriend...that's liable to get his ass kicked right off this mountain, over!".

Another good moment is when Hal confronts Gabe for the first time since his girlfriend's funeral.  In the scene Gabe angrily says "You didn't love her and you didn't have to explain to her family!" and Gabe says "And you didn't have to look into her eyes when she was falling!  Now drop it!" and Hal grabs him and very nearly pushes him over a cliff edge and he says "NO, BUDDY! It was YOU who dropped it!".  And as Gabe perilously stands over the egde he says to Hal "You wanna do it?  Do it!" but Hal shakes his head and let's go of him and says "No! You live with it!".   

Then there is the scene where Hal deliberately misleads Qualen and Travers by taking them the long way round to the next case.  However, Travers nearly twigs this at one point and says to him "Wait a minute.  It looks like a winding route to me" and Hal says "The fastest way is right up the east face.  Of course there's only about twelve guys in the world who can do it. You wanna try it?!".  

Rooker's best scene in the film comes when he faces off against one Qualen's thugs, Delmar (Craig Fairbrass) who is about to shoot, but when Hal goads him to, Delmar instead kicks his ass and yaks on about soccer.  And in the scene Hal says "Hey Delmar, from me to you, you're an asshole!" and later "In a minute I'll be dead and YOU will always be an asshole!".  And as Delmar is about to kick him off the cliff, Hal manages to surprise Delmar by quickly grabbing a knife he had in his trousers and stabbing it into Delmar's leg and Hal grabs the thug's shotgun and says "SEASON'S OVER ASSHOLE!" just before he blasts him off the cliff.

WARNING: THIS PARAGRAPH REFERS TO THE END OF THE FILM (AGAIN!!)

And lastly there is the final scene of the film where the bad guys are all taken care of (in the Jules Winfield sense of the word! i.e. as Samuel L Jackson's character in Pulp Fiction who once said "taken care of!") and Gabe is helped back up the mountain by Hal and Jessie.  So, Hal teases Gabe and says "Hey, buddy, you couldn't have put a little more effort into that climb?!  I thought you were in shape!" and Gabe weakly says "I'm guess I'm falling apart!".  And as the FBI agents get in touch over the radio frequency (and Hal in the scenes talk to them with a radio he took from Delmar earlier in the film) Hal fills them in.  So, Hal says to the agents "If you're looking for Mr. Qualen... try about 4,000 feet south of here. He'll be the one wearing a helicopter! Over!". 

Rex Linn is also pretty good in his role as the corrupt treasury agent, Travers, who is in cahoots with Qualen albeit somewhat relucantly, as they both despise one another.  Linn also has some good moments in the film such as his opening scene where one of the treasury agents Wright (Paul Winfield) calls treasury agents the most superstitious prompting Travers to says "We should be!  Everyone wants what we have!".

And there is also the scene where Travers transfer between planes to Qualen's plane, but he does it before he sends the money.  So when Travers reaches Qualen's plane and he is taken in, Qualen angrily asks "Why didn't you send the money first?!" and Travers replies "Somehow I didn't think you would wait for me if I sent it first!".

Another good scene is when just after Qualen's plane crashes in the rocky mountains and Qualen demands to Travers "Give me the tracking monitor!" and Travers says "What the hell are you gonna do with it?!" and Kynette warns Travers "Don't make him ask you twice!  Give it to him!".  So, Travers takes the tracking monitor for the cases and hands it over to Qualen "You want it? Here! Take it.  Its only got 50,000 key code variations in it!".  This angers, Delmar who comes at him and shouts "I'm gonna break your fucking neck in a minute!" and Travers angrily says back "Yeah, go ahead and break my fucking neck!" as he lunges for Delmar but he is held back.  So, Travers shouts at them "In case any of you slept through the landing...you're gonna need all the money you can find to buy your way out of this country!  YOU know it and I know it!".   

Then there is the scene Hal, Qualen, Travers and the others are about to encounter Brett and Evan and on their radios, they hear Frank come as he is sweeping the area in his chopper.  So, Qualen says "Looks like we're drawing a crowd" and Travers quips "We're down to a few hours before the whole fucking world shows up!" and he asks Hal of the cases  "Where's the next one?" and Hal replies "On the tower".  Qualen then asks Hal "How far?" but Hal doesn't respond straight away, so Travers impatiently grabs Hal by the throat and yells at him "He asked you how far, goddamnit!! You know what I think?  I think we've been taking the scenic route!  NOW, HOW FAR IS IT???!!" and Hal gasps and responds "Half a day!". 

Another good scene from Linn is where Travers get's a lock in on the last remaining case of money and he says to Delmar "I've got it locked in".  So, Delmar asks him regarding Hal "So, we're finished with him, yeah?" and Travers says "Yeah and do it quietly.  Your insane boss just made enough noise for anyone within 10 miles to hear us" and he walks off and says "Its been fun!".  So after Hal survives his brutal encounter with Delmar and (SPOILER!!!!!) by shooting him off the mountain with Delmar's shotgun, Travers, far off sees the body fall in the distance over the cliff and he says "I said quietly!". 

Last of all is Linn's best scene where Travers finally snaps, as he tries to locate the last case but instead he finds a bunny rabbit has the transponder device on it and he goes bananas with his machine gun and contacts Qualen and berates him on the radio.  And Linn get's some good dialogue in the scene where he says to Qualen "They beat us!  A couple of fuckin mountain rangers beat us!  They beat the man no law agency ever could! And I'm finding that pretty tuckin' hilarious, Qualen!".  Travis then continues his rant to Qualen "It's hard to believe I sold out after 20 years... and this is my payback? To run on a mountain with a fuckin' dirtbag like you!".  Qualen responds angrily "Travis, you've lost your mind!" and Travis says "I lost it?!  Fuckin A', I lost it!  Pure fuckin section eight!".  Qualen then finishes by saying to Qualen "I gotta go.  I'm on my last official manhunt!  Adios motherfucker!" and he signs off and throws away the tracker and sets his sights on hunting down Gabe.
  
Janine Turner next is very good also as Gabe's girlfriend, Jessie, who helps Gabe out in trying to find the cases of money and to try and reach Hal as well as fight off the baddies.  Turner has some good moments in the film, and her funniest line comes when she flies the chopper at the start of the film up the mountains and she sees Gabe climbing and she says "I don't recognise him, but the butt looks familiar!".

Turner also has another good scene with Stallone near the start of the film where Jessie says to Gabe "Why don't quit hoarding all the guilt!  You held on as long as you could!".  And as Gabe says "I don't think you understand" Jessie says "I think I'm the only one who understands!  You know there were times where I didn't know what to do more, love you or hate you.  But one thing I do know is that I understand you".

Then there is the scene where Jessie senses something is wrong with Hal and Gabe after hearing Hal's responding transmission just after he has been captured by Quanlen's men.  So, Jessie back at the rocky mountain rescue office says to Frank "He said the tower, but he's on Comb Bluff. Frank, fly me to the west valley. The winds are never too strong there. It's only a half-hour climb to the Douglas Shaft. It's the only shelter around. Hal would have to go there!".  Frank however shakes his head and says "That is a bad idea, Jessie.  Hal would have my head!" and Jessie tries to flatter Frank "And its such a handsome head.  Come on, Frank.  I'll buy one of your paintings!".   

And lastly there is the scene where Gabe and Jessie prepare to use the old rope they got to rappel down the mountain.  So Gabe says to Jessie "The ledge is too far. Take this rope and pull it apart and tie it together. We're gonna rappel down!" and Jessie asks "This rope is 60 years old, do you think it will hold?" and Gabe says "Don't think so" and Jessie says "Bad answer!". 

Leon Robertson is also good as the brutal henchman, Kynette who in his best scene where he confronts and later beats up Gabe and demands where the money is.

And at the start of the scene Kynette springs up on Gabe as he pops his head out of the cave he has just climbed up and Kynette says to him "Your life is on sale, Walker!  The price is 30 million!  Where is it?!".  And as Gabe says he burned it Kynette says "Not even a dumb mountain boy like you would burn 30 million dollars!" and then he says "I don't make deals, Walker but I'll make one with you.  Hand over the money and I'll just kill you and not the girl!  Now give me the money!" which prompts Gabe to agree but then he lifts his pick axe out of the snow and slashes Kynette's leg with it as Gabe falls back down into the cave.

And as Kynette beats up Gabe, he shouts at him "I'm gonna ask you just three times....WHERE'S THE MONEY??!!!" and Gabe says "Sissy!  You hit like a sissy!" so Kynette kicks Gabe again and he yells "WRONG ANSWER, MOTHERFUCKER!!".   So, Kynette grabs Gabe and yells "GET UP!  I'm gonna ask you a second time....where is the money?!!" and Gabe replies sharply "Burned it!" and Kynette glares with fury and shouts "WRONG...ANSWER!!" and hits Gabe in the face with his knuckle duster.  So, before Kynette goes in for the kill, he get's the film's best line which is "It amazes me in this day and age that a man would put money before the personal safety of himself and his bitch!  I want you to go to your grave knowing, I'm gonna treat the bitch RIGHT!" but then Gabe turns the tables and kills him instead!

Craig Fairbrass (who was known in Britain for his role in Eastenders) also makes a decent impression as one of Qualen's thugs, Delmar

Fairbrass also has another good moment where Qualen's group loses another of their men and Hal smiles saying "Gravity is a bitch ain't it?" and Delmar shouts "Fuck the money and fuck you!  I wasn't born to die on no fucking mountain!".  And Kynette sarcastically asks "Where were you born to die?  You gotta place picked out?!" and Delmar warns Kynette "I don't need to hear that fucking shit from you, boy!" causing Kynette to angrily grab Kynette by his hair and hold his knife to his throat yelling "Maybe this boy should make your mouth a little bigger!".       

And Craig's best scene comes when Delmar kicks the crap out of Hal and Hal does his best to goad Delmar into beating him up before killing him.  So, as Hal calls Delmar an asshole, Delmar responds "Yeah?  Well, you're a loud mouth, punk slag, who is about to die!".  So, Hal says to him "Maybe.  But in a minute I'll be dead and YOU will always be an asshole.  So go ahead and shoot.  SHOOT!!" so Delmar grabs Hal and says "Who's shooting?" and he headbutts him.

So as Delmar proceeds to kick the shit out of Hal he taunts him saying "Do you like socceer?  Its a great sport!  I was a fucking good striker!" and he stamps on Hal's calf, who screams out "God, Fuck you!!".  So, Delmar says "You're swearing now!  That's a penalty kick!  Unsportsmanlike!" and he kicks Hal a few more times.  Delmar then walks back as he prepares to delivery one final almighty kick and he says to Hal "Striker lines up at the penalty spot. He focuses on the ball. The crowd is on its teet. Striker moves to his lett. He draws back his foot. He comes in....".  Delmar delivers one more brutal kick to Hal, which just about sends him over the edge as Hal desparately tries to hold on, Delmar puts his foot on Hal's hand and laughs sadistically.  Hal however manages to open the switchblade he took earlier from Frank and stabs Delmar in the knee with it, takes his shotgun and yells at a panicked Delmar "SEASON'S OVER, ASSHOLE!!!!" and shoots him off the cliff.

Ralph Waite also puts in a nice performance as the rescue team's search and rescue pilot, Frank, and he has an amusing scene where he does a painting of what appears to be a banana and he says to Hal "This is a banana eating a monkey!  Nature in reverse!".  Hal bemused asks Frank "Where?" and Frank points at the painting "Right there!" and Hal laughs and says "He looks like a normal guy...but he's not, are you, Frank?!" and Frank offended says "Hey, I'm an artist!".  

Waite also has a good moment in the opening scene where he pilots the helicopter while they search for Hal and Sarah and as Jessies teases Gabe when she spots him climbing the mountain and says "I don't recognise the face but the butt does look familiar" Gabe says "Hey careful or you'll embarass old Frank!" and Frank replies "It would take a heap more than that, rock jock!".

But its also worth noting in the opening scene of the film that Waite as Frank appears to have a rather mad looking grin on his face when Sarah falls to her death as its almost like he was enjoying it!  Of course it is more likely just the expression that Waite had on his face in that given scene but even still it makes you think "Frank, what a sick bastard you are grinning at a time like this!".

Caroline Goodall is also good in her role as Kristel, Qualen's girlfriend (although it is actually never explicitly stated in the film that she is) and she, too has some good scenes such as the one near the start of the film where after Qualen's plane crash lands in the rockies and Kristel sends out a fake distress call, which Hal picks up.

So, in the scene as Hal responds on his radio, Kristel fakes an American accent (as she is English) and Kristel says "Oh, thank God! Ah, we're stranded. We were hiking and lost our bearings. We didn't expect the weather to come in this fast!".  And as Hal asks how many people are in their group, Qualen indicates five to Kristel who says to Hal "Five people. I don't know where we are. I-- I see only a cylinder-type rock formation. Over!".  So, as Hal tells her to stay calm and he is on his way, Kristel feigns desparation again as she says to Hal "Please hurry! Billy's going into shock! Please, we need insulin! Please, hurry!".  Qualen then shuts off the radio and looks at Kristel, impressed, he strokes her face gently and says to Travers "We need insulin?"  Would you have thought of that?". 

Then there is the scene where Kristel rigs a mountain bridge with explosives, and as she sets it, she says to Qualen "Its ready".  And after Kristel finishes, Qualen watches her and says "You'll make someone a fine wife some day" and she replies "You should see me bake a cake!" and he smiles.

And last of all there is the scene where Frank lands the chopper nearby as he sees Kristel lie face down in the snow, which is just a ruse so they can get the chopper.  So, as Frank goes to Kristel, he says "Where's the rest of the group?" and Kristel slowly get's up and the suddenly grabs Frank's gun and points it at him and says "Welcome!".  Frank looks surprised and asks "What are you doing?!" and Kristel aggressively says "Now, back off!" and Frank says "I came here to help you!" and Delmar suddenly appears armed with his machine gun, who says "You did.  Don't move".  And at this point, Hal, who was held at gunpoint by Qualen and Travers is let go and rushes toward Frank yelling at him to get the hell out of there only for Delmar to then gun down Frank.  Kristel then furiously get's up and yells at Delmar "YOU STUPID MANIAC!!  No one told you to shoot!" and Delmar says "We've wasted enough time".  

And lastly Paul Winfield makes a good albeit brief appearance in the film as a treasury agent, Walter Wright who later uncovers Qualen's plot to rob the US Treasury.  And Winfield delivers one of the film's most ironic lines near the start when he reassures one of the undercover agents that "Armoured cars can be hijacked, trains derailed but nobody can touch us in flight!".  Travers then says "Haven't lost a bill in 12 years. Don't jinx me now!" and Wright then smiles and says "I swear Treasury agents are the most superstitious people in the government!" and Travers says "We should be! Everbody wants what we have!".   

DIRECTOR AND MUSIC 

Getting onto the direction, Renny Harlin (who was best known for directing Die Hard 2 up to this point) does a fine job with Cliffhanger and he skillfully shoots the spectacular climbing sequences as well as handling the film's gritty action scenes and suspense very well.  He also creates some interesting visual shots such as the scene where we see a distant shot of the mountain where on the top Hal leads the thieves and thousands of feet below we can see Gabe and Jessie work their way toward finding the remaining cases. Also there is the scene the scene where Qualen's men shoot their guns and grenade launchers, which sets off a landslide and the point of view shot pans from down up the cliff to Gabe and above him, which is pretty good.

The film's music score is also pretty good which was written and composed by Trevor Jones, and it has several tense and dramatic passages which work very well and the film's main theme is also memorable.  The score also has a resemblance to Jones's score for The Last of the Mohicans and it also even echoes part of his score for Mississipi Burning during the night time scenes where Qualen's men chase Gabe.  So as a score it still holds up pretty well to this day.  

FLAWS 

As for flaws does Cliffhanger have any?????  Yeah its not entirely perfect.

And to begin, I felt that the story in itself is pretty flimsy and there's nothing really new there, as its just another cliched story of bad guys wanting money, and the hero trying to overcome his own demons and adversity.  I also thought some of the sequences in the film were a bit daft such as the scene where Gabe climbs up the mountain face having just escaped Qualen's men in the harsh freezing snowy conditions, wearing only a T-shirt on top, yet somehow he doesn't freeze to death in the process!  And when Gabe finally reaches the top and the shack where Jessie is waiting and she gives him a jumper as soon as he puts it on he almost stops shivering immediately, which marks a pretty quick recovery for a man who almost certainly would have died from hypothermia due to being exposed to such cold temperatures only wearing a T-shirt!

The film's violence is also pretty strong and there are one or two moments that could leave an audience cold (no pun intended) such as the scene where Qualen shoots Kristel or the young skydivers being mercilessly gunned down by Qualen's men.  The censors were also pretty strict on the violence in the film and in America they made several trims to the film's violent scenes and the initial DVD release over here was also heavily censored.  The main cuts to the DVD release in the UK included the scene where Kynette beats up Gabe and where Delmar gives Hal a pretty nasty kicking.

The film also on some levels could also be accused of being a little racist, especially in its depiction of the character of Delmar, who in one scene (which was initially edited in the British DVD release) harbours a grudge toward Leon (who threatened him with a knife earlier on) and he says to Kristel "Good, and blow up that black bastard while you're at it.  Save me the time of doing it meself!".  This scene and all the others cuts were of course restored in the UK Blu-ray release of Cliffhanger which is still uncut and rated as a 15, even though at the time those cuts were made in order for the film to prevent it from receiving an 18.   

The film also features one or two redundant characters such as the two young sky divers Brett and Evan who provide us with some daft dialogue particularly in one scene where the two of them camp for the night.  And in the scene, Brett asks Evan "Where would rather be right now?  Here at tent city or back home playing some righteous air hockey?" and Evan says "Air hockey got my vote" and Brett says "Exactly cheeshead, exactly!" leaving Evan to bemusingly ask "Cheeshead?" and Brett confirms "Cheesehead".  It almost seems like they appeared to have been added as an afterthought for the sake of the MTV generation (well OK maybe not but its just my theory!).

Another problem I had with the film was to do with how Gabe is one minute shown driving away from Jessie's place, intent on heading back to Denver despite Jessie's best attempts to try and persuade him to help out Hal with what turns out to be Qualen's fake distress call.  However in the next scene we suddenly see Gabe up the mountain having decided to help out Hal!  I just think there should have been a transitional scene in there somewhere that showed Gabe changing his mind, even if he drove off so far and then decided to stop and turn the jeep around!  So, I just think Gabe's decision to help out Hal should have been handled better in the film than it actually was.  

UPDATE: Actually further to the last paragraph, there IS a moment where we see Gabe make up his mind to help out Hal with the so called stranded climbers in the scene where she tries to persuade him to help. However, its actually pretty subtle as Jessie pleads with Gabe and says "Go ahead, leave! But if you don't do this now, you'll be stuck up on that ledge for the rest of your life!" and Gabe takes a moment to consider her words and he nods and get's in and drives off and that's where he made the choice but I actually didn't realise until now that Gabe's nod was even there! So, yeah that previous flaw is actually a redeemable one and that's on me for not noticing it! ;-) 

Another scene which I found puzzling is where Kristel sets the explosives over the bridge and while she does it Qualen appears to be holding her at gunpoint!  And you have to ask yourself: if he is then why???  I mean she is on his side after all and its not like she wouldn't be willing to do what he asks of her.  It may of course just be a poor bit of perspective in terms of direction and in a earlier shot in the scene we see that Qualen has his gun held lower down to his side but in the next shot he clearly appears to be holding at Kristel like "Don't you screw this up!".  Its nothing of great significance but its a small but puzzling niggle all the same.  

I also thought the film had a pretty stupid climax with Gabe fighting with Qualen in the mountain rescue helicopter which has crashed and gone over the edge of the cliff and is hanging by the remaining rungs of the ladder (which Gabe wrapped around the helicopter's landing skids, which are steadily coming loose because of the weight of the helicopter.

And the sudden ending (PLOT SPOILER) with Gabe having dealt with Qualen, they receive a call from the Treasury agents who are enroute to save them and Paul Winfield's character says "Just sit tight for now" and the credits role.  So in this regard you wish you kind of saw some sort of aftermath for the characters having made it safely down, rather than, pardon the pun, just leave them hanging!

Anyway that's it for the flaws.  

SUM UP

So to sum up Cliffhanger is still a very entertaining and suspenseful action film which has some spectacular visuals and some good action in it as well.  The film does of course have some cheesy action movie moments and a pretty hammy villain and it also stretches its credibility in quite a few places especially with its over the top climax but if you can forgive that then Cliffhanger is still one of Stallone's most enjoyable action films. And even 30 years on, Cliffhanger is well worth taking a look at and warrants repeated viewing. 

So. I will rate Cliffhanger:

9 out of 10

So, that's it for now and I will be back soon hopefully yet another post, which could possibly be a review of The Fugitive (which I don't appear to have done on the blog!). 

Until then bye the now!