* AlternateAesopInterpretation: Underneath the exterior of a typical blockbuster action movie, it can be seen deep down as a fable about facing down and standing up to bullies, whom Qualen and his gang show the most traits of.
* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Trevor Jones's stirring score, especially the seven-minute-plus end title version of the main theme.
* BaseBreakingCharacter:
** Travers. Some give him credit for the astonishing, world record-breaking aerial plane transfer at the beginning of the film, while some despise him for acting like a whining and [[HairTriggerTemper ill-tempered]] {{Jerkass}} BigBadWannabe throughout the film up to his SanitySlippage and VillainousBreakdown.
** Although most people [[LoveToHate enjoyed]] Creator/JohnLithgow's mostly ColdHam performance as BigBad Eric Qualen, he was criticized for his [[WhatTheHellIsThatAccent inauthentic-sounding]] [[FakeBrit English]] [[OohMeAccentsSlipping accent]], especially when next to native English-thespians Fairbrass and Goodall and this was way before Lithgow's much more lauded role as UsefulNotes/WinstonChurchill in ''Series/TheCrown'' decades later after this movie.
* CatharsisFactor: Considering what a bunch of murdering assholes they all are, it's very satisfying to see Qualen's gang get what's coming to them.
* CompleteMonster: [[BigBad Eric Qualen]] is a military intelligence officer turned infamous terrorist who is defined by {{sadist}}ic cruelty. Trying to steal $100 million, killing three agents and one pilot, and [[BadBoss casually tossing an injured minion off his plane]], he loses three cases full of money and crashes his plane into a mountain. Taking Gabriel "Gabe" Walker and his friend Hal Tucker as hostages to help him find the cases, Qualen tries making Walker freeze to death by removing his coat and plans to kill him once he comes back. Qualen has his men try to murder two teenagers who accidentally stumble upon him, succeeding in killing one and mocking Tucker about it. Qualen coldly shoots his lover and pilot Kristel to ensure that he'll be the only person alive to pilot the helicopter to safety, planning on killing Tucker as well, and later [[IHaveYourWife kidnaps Walker's girlfriend]] Jesse to drop her in the ravines if Walker won't give him the case. When the helicopter hangs on a deep chasm, Qualen attempts to make the helicopter fall to [[TakingYouWithMe take Walker with him]].
* DamselScrappy: Jessie, it even warranted a Razzie nomination for her portrayer Creator/JanineTurner, who looked lost in her role as her, turning in an unconvincing performance.
* EnsembleDarkHorse:
** [[CoolOldGuy Frank]], who happens to be the kindest character in this film. He's a [[HiddenDepths painter-wannabe]] that has spends the rest of the film trying to locate Walker, Tucker and Jessie, which makes his [[spoiler:DroppedABridgeOnHim death a TearJerker]].
** The teen thrill-seekers Brett and Evan, who both act as the film's PluckyComicRelief duo, which makes [[spoiler:Brett's death a TearJerker as well]].
** For the villains: The CoDragons (Kynette and Delmar) can be considered more menacing and [[EvilIsCool interesting]] villains than the film's main BigBad:
*** Kynette, for being a martial artist filled with NightmareFuel who's able to [[NearVillainVictory nearly]] give a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown to Walker, being so badass in scenes as the film's ScaryBlackMan (such as the SlowMotion death of [[spoiler:Brett]] caused by him and his PreMortemOneLiner towards Walker). Special mention goes to the character being played an actor who's also a singer who, on the same year this film was released, had also appeared in [[Film/CoolRunnings another snowy terrain film, but was a Disney family film]], and was able to give an [[SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct intimidating and menacing performance]] as TheDragon.
*** [[NewbieBoom Delmar eventually became popular amongst some film viewers who are also video gamers]], due to a form of RetroactiveRecognition of the character being played by Craig Fairbrass, who would later become known for his voice acting in the ''[[VideoGame/ModernWarfare Call of Duty: Modern Warfare]]'' trilogy, especially his performance as [[BreakoutCharacter Ghost]] from ''Modern Warfare 2''. Some viewers see Delmar as an EvilCounterpart {{Foil}} to his actor's later ''Call of Duty'' characters due to some similarities they share [[note]](for example, Delmar wears a brown vest like Gaz from the first ''Modern Warfare'' game, carries a submachine gun that looks like the very same one Wallcroft carries from the third ''Modern Warfare'' game, and wears a black jumpsuit throughout the film like Gaz's SAS attire in the first ''Modern Warfare'' game's level "Crew Expendable" and Wallcroft's default SAS clothing).[[/note]] Aside from this fact and the comparisons, Delmar is also singled out for being a badass himself, like his SlowMotion kill of [[spoiler:Frank]], his [[HiddenDepths self-mentioned background as a former soccer player]], and his unique soccer-kicking torture of Tucker.
** [[OneSceneWonder FBI Agent Matheson]], thanks to him for being MadeOfIron and for kicking off the film's plot with his NotQuiteDead act which helps foil Qualen's robbery at the beginning of the film.
* EvilIsCool:
** You gotta give the villains credit for pulling off the [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome sheer awesome]] stunt in the plane-to-plane transfer (especially the {{Jerkass}} [[TheMole mole]] Travers, who is the one to slide down the cable connected to the planes). The stunt has been even entered in the ''Literature/GuinnessWorldRecords'', as the stuntman doubling for Travers, Simon Crane, [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome crossed between two planes at an altitude of 15,000 feet (4,600 m) and ended up with a million dollar paycheck as a result]].
** More specifically, the villains are all a HateSink gang for their cruelty and general mean-spiritedness, but there are some exceptions despite also being despicable:
*** Kynette, for being the most intimidating and formidable henchman out of Qualen's group.
*** Delmar, basically due his actor Craig Fairbrass receiving RetroactiveRecognition for his later voice acting in the ''Call of Duty'' game franchise and comparisons made by some viewers between Delmar and the games' characters portrayed by Fairbrass, as well as his HiddenDepths as an ex-soccer player that contribute to his CurbStompBattle against his hostage Tucker.
*** Once you get pass the Razzie-nominated FakeBrit accent, Creator/JohnLithgow would qualify too.
* FirstInstallmentWins: An odd example of this occuring within a single movie. At least one contemporary critic noted that the opening scene is so memorable, horrific, and intense, that the rest of the movie suffers by comparision.
* FridgeLogic: While it provides the movie with enough mooks for Walker to take down one by one, you have to wonder why Qualen needed at least five heavily armed mercenaries whose sole role during the airplane heist would have been nothing but to sit around if it had gone according to plan.
* HarsherInHindsight: The moment Walker drops Sarah and she starts to fall is eerily similar to a video of a man desperately trying to climb out of the burning floors of the World Trade Center and eventually losing his grip.
* SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct: Anyone these days who are familiar with his more recent heroic and likable performances in video games such as ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare'' and ''VideoGame/BattlefieldV'' and mostly recently as Chef Zeff in the Creator/{{Netflix}} show ''Series/{{One Piece|2023}}'' would be quite surprised at Craig Fairbrass's range, as he plays an utterly monstrous and despicable character in this film.
* HoYay: Qualen and Travers spend the movie bitching at each other.
-->'''Travers:''' Get off my back, Qualen.\\
'''Qualen:''' Off? I haven't even got ''on'' it yet.
* IronWoobie: Walker. He is overcome with grief from his failure to save his best friend's girlfriend; captured by Qualen's goons, who strip him of his jacket and bolt gun, leaving him vulnerable to the cold; and finds himself a living target for the villains to hunt down.
* JerkassWoobie:
** Tucker, as he out of grief blames Walker for his failure to save Sarah, whose death and Walker's inability to save her he had to bear witness to first hand. He becomes more of a ButtMonkey later in the film when he's forced to be a guide for Qualen's posse, bullied around, and ForcedToWatch them kill two of his colleagues before being on the receiving end of a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown given by Delmar.
** [[TheMole Travers]], who is bossed around by his fellow goons throughout the film and is a BigBadWannabe who attempts to be TheStarscream when he can't take [[DudeWheresMyRespect lack of respect]] anymore before Qualen gets the upper hand. What Travers [[ButtMonkey goes through during the film]] contributes to his eventual SanitySlippage (which is [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by Qualen to Travers when speaking to him for the last time) and VillainousBreakdown when Walker outsmarts him. However, [[FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse that doesn't excuse the fact he's a downright total]] {{Jerkass}} through and through with a severe LackOfEmpathy, so he is not ''that'' sympathetic.
* LoveToHate: While most of the MoralEventHorizon actions and {{Jerkass}} behaviors of the terrorists fall into a HateSink (especially when it comes to killing off a PluckyComicRelief and a [[spoiler:beloved CoolOldGuy]] or just being outright mean-spirited towards their enemies and each other), you got to admit, the acting of Leon and Craig Fairbrass comes off as somewhat badass when it comes to playing the CoDragons, from Kynette's martial arts-laden NoHoldsBarredBeatdown given to juggernaut Stallone, to Fairbrass's soccer game wisecracks when torturing Tucker to give him a unique, slow, and agonizing death. Even though they're meant to be a HateSink like the rest of their posse, they border on EvilIsCool, especially the presence of [[VideoGame/ModernWarfare Craig Fairbrass]]. Also, sure Creator/JohnLithgow's character's accent earned him a Razzie nomination, but his [[FauxAffablyEvil witty and erudite performance]] is still enjoyable.
* MemeticMutation: The [[https://youtu.be/thKCAobv1Yg commercial]] for ''Cliffhanger''[='=]s LicensedGame has earned itself a memetic following due to ending with what many consider to be one of the funniest [[PreAsskickingOneLiner Pre-Asskicking One Liners]].
-->''"Eat this, you gravy-sucking dooooog!"''
* MoralEventHorizon:
** Kynette crosses it when he coldly [[WouldHurtAChild shooting and killing some teenagers]], alongside beating down Gabe Walker.
** Delmar crosses it ruthlessly [[WouldHarmASenior shooting down an elderly man]], alongside torturing Hal Tucker.
** Eric Qualen crosses it when he treacherously [[WouldHitAGirl guns down his own partner to save himself]].
** Travers alarmingly crosses it when he goes through a [[VillainousBreakdown breakdown, declaring himself insane to Qulen and that he will hunt down Gabe if it's the last thing he does]].
* {{Narm}}:
** In about half the death scenes, you wonder if Creator/RennyHarlin thought he was making an OscarBait TearJerker rather than an action movie.
** Frank's facial expression during the failed rescue scene at the beginning looks more like he's grinning maniacally at the situation, when it's supposed to be a grimace.
** [[WordOfGod According to Stallone]]: "...the director's cut was met with a lot of disapproval at the screening and received some alarmingly low scores. Mainly because the stunts were absurdly overblown. For example, the average man can jump maybe twelve feet across a gorge, and the stunts had me leaping maybe three hundred feet or more, so situations like that had to be pared down and still then were fairly extreme..."
* NarmCharm: Walker defeating Kynette with a well-timed GroinAttack.
* OneSceneWonder: For a character with limited screen time, Sarah provided a memorable impression.
* RetroactiveRecognition:
** Tucker is played by [[Series/TheWalkingDead2010 Merle]] [[Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2014 and]] [[Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2 Yondu]].
** Delmar is played by [[VideoGame/ModernWarfare Gaz/Ghost/Wallcroft]]/[[Series/{{One Piece|2023}} Chef Zeff]].
** Travers is played by [[Series/CSIMiami Sgt. Frank Tripp]].
* SignatureScene: The opening scene [[spoiler: where poor Sarah falls to her death.]]
* SoBadItsGood: John Lithgow's "[[IAmVeryBritish British]]" accent is simultaneously the best and worst part of the movie.
* SpiritualAdaptation: Due to some plot similarities, this film is the closest thing to a SettingUpdate remake of either World War II PropagandaMachine flicks ''Film/NorthernPursuit'' or ''Film/FortyNinthParallel'' (the former featuring A-list star Creator/ErrolFlynn as TheHero, much like how Stallone is in this one, while the VillainProtagonist of the latter is played by a British actor named Eric who bares similar facial features to Creator/JohnLithgow, who plays this movie's BigBad, an EvilBrit also named Eric).
* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: Trevor Jones's score for this film sounds similar to Music/MichelLegrand's score for ''Film/IceStationZebra'' (listen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOuhC-MNTZ4 here]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDNdJz88h3M here]] for a comparison).
* TearJerker: Sarah's horrifying demise, Walker's grief, and [[spoiler:Frank's murder]].
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Some viewers may feel this way in regards to Frank, the movie's resident CoolOldGuy, especially when suffering a [[spoiler:DroppedABridgeOnHim death after spending the entire screen time trailing Walker, Tucker, and Jessie just to find and rescue them]].
* TooBleakStoppedCaring: The NC-17 cut gave off this effect due to the [[ViolenceIsDisturbing grisly violence]] seen on screen, making the film borderline grimdark seemingly for the sake of shock value, hence the ReCut to avert this problem.
* TooCoolToLive: [[spoiler:Matheson, Kynette, Frank, and Delmar.]]
* TheWoobie: Poor Sarah and Frank.
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