Well I put this movie into the same category as “Drop Zone (1994)”.
Loved them both & never got tired of watching them when they were on, although I can’t say I saw this 15 times.
But since you brought it up, it’s ironic that now that I think about it, I haven’t seen either one in years.
Somewhere between 10-15
shareEasily over 20 times. I'm thinking of watching it again this weekend.
shareIts a yearly watch for me, so I'd say Ive watched it at least 26 times.
shareFor some reason I keep coming back to this movie from time to time. It's good nostalgia watch and enjoyable for some reason.
share5-ish. I watched it about a month ago on imdbTV.
shareMaybe 40 times.
It’s one of the most rewatchable films ever made, much like Total Recall.
It starts with one of the best opening scenes in cinema history, and the pace never lets up. The characters are varied and likeable, even the villains. Stallone is at his peak and Lithgow is a hilariously camp foil. The script is endlessly quotable.
The cinematography is breathtaking - mountains have never looked so gorgeous and deadly. The action is varied and brutal - mid-air hijack, plane crash, avalanche, impalement on stalactite, trapped under ice etc etc.
It’s also got a horror edge with the horrific opener and the savage murder of loveable side characters like the stoner kid and Frank. Harlin has a boner for killing off innocents (see Die Hard 2). It makes the ending a bit weird because the survivors are all happy and laughing and you’re like - ‘err, you’ve been beaten within an inch of your lives and most of your friends are dead?’ Interestingly, the film is called ‘Only The Strong Survive’ in France - how right they are.
This emotional clumsiness is part of the film’s charm - Harlin doesn’t have time for emotional resolution in his action-porn! ✊🏻
The score is great too. In fact, for a junk-food action film it’s exquisitely made, and it utterly puts to shame anything Hollywood shits out these days. It’s a gem that just gets brighter over time.
Might need to fire up my 4K disc again after all that… 🍻
well said.
violence in film is unusually mean spiriteds. gives film a cold tone.
i feel very bad for blond sky diver and old man. but this is balanced by tremendus action show piece scene. very entertain and well made film.
they will never make film like this again.