What’s the ceiling on a mid-level, 90’s-style action film gross? We’d say the ceiling was set pretty definitively by 1993’s “Cliffhanger,” one of the better “Die Hard On A ” variants that set the tone for the last pre-CG era of action filmmaking in which outsized personalities like Sylvester Stallone took precedence over flashy effects. The film took in $84 million in America, but more than doubled that overseas. Like many mid-nineties action pictures, it generated a large profit without ever really tapping into the cultural zeitgeist. Being a copycat itself, from mimicry-action director Renny Harlin, “Cliffhanger” didn’t lead to imitators or a major genre renaissance, nor did it inspire any passionate feelings negative or positive in critics or moviegoers, and it kept Stallone’s career in a holding pattern- he would soil his goodwill with the one-two underperforming punch of “Demolition Man” and “The Specialist.”
Are you ready to do it all again?
Superproducer Neal Moritz (“Torque,” “Click”) has united his Original Films (ho ho!) and StudioCanal for an international remake of the actioner. Again called a “reboot” (apparently the word “remake” has taken on a negative connotation- possibly because they keep remaking stuff like “Cliffhanger”), Moritz compares it to the recent “Star Trek” relaunch. Hm, yes, of course- comparing a forgotten 1994 action film to a pop culture phenomenon that spawned six television shows and eleven movies. The logic in this is ironclad.
The “international” angle is probably what’s keeping this idea alive. The original was a worldwide smash, and Moritz will probably take a page from competitor Joel Silver’s playbook, as Silver as spent considerable effort making movies for America but populated by unknown foreign stars (i.e. Silver’s association with Rain, a Korean pop star featured in “Speed Racer” and the upcoming “Ninja Assassin”). With the demise of outsized action stars like Sylvester Stallone and the rise of globalization, expect the new film to be an international ensemble film featuring a team of rock climbers trapped on a mountaintop facing off against a band of stranded criminals. So… great. It’s “Vertical Limit.”
The element of recent remake announcements seems to feel like we’re all caught in some sort of a timewarp. “Cliffhanger” co-writer Michael France has since made big cash as a Marvel Studios gun for hire and remains highly capable and in-demand, while director Harlin (“Die Hard 2,” “12 Rounds”) is not above this sort of easy cash-grab. And Stallone himself is preparing to star in “The Expendables,” a major action tentpole, and, past 60, certainly looks like he could reprise his role. Which was essentially what he wanted to do earlier last year, when rumors surfaced that he was meeting with Sony regarding “The Dam,” a potential sequel for his Gabe Walker character. We would think a Sylvester Stallone vehicle by itself would be more marketable than a no-name rock climbing movie remade from a “Die Hard” ripoff no one remembers, but hey, we’re not Neil Moritz. He produced “xXx: State Of The Union” so he probably knows what he’s doing.
In fairness to “Cliffhanger,” the trailer is one of the all-time greats.