Cliffhanger

Plot hole: This happens after Gabe has killed the guy in the cavern and is reaching for the radio. We hear Frank trying to reach them, so they must be on the same frequency. Then, Hal finds out that a bomb has been planted, grabs a radio from the bad guys and starts yelling for Gabe to get out of the cavern because of the bomb. Why didn't Frank hear any of this on his headset?

Plot hole: During the finale you see Stallone's character attach the helicopter to the ladder. He then runs away from the helicopter, and away from the ladder. Even if he does run round in a semi-circle, (unlikely from what we see), they show the helicopter go over his head as he jumps off the hill onto the ladder. The helicopter then pulls the ladder off the cliff face. Based on the length of the helicopter's cable it must have kept going for an awful long distance!

Factual error: How is it that when Sly comes out of the freezing, icy water, his hair and clothes are bone dry? I don't know too much about hypothermia, but I would imagine that his fairly thin sweater isn't wind proof. I'm sure by the time the movie ended, he would be suffering from more symptoms of hypothermia other than chattering teeth.

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Sarah: Help me! I don't want to die.
Gabe: You're not gonna die.

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Trivia: In an interview with GQ, John Lithgow revealed that he was originally supposed to be the film's secondary villain, with Christopher Walken playing the main antagonist. However, Walken exited the project, leading to Lithgow being promoted to main antagonist.

Phaneron

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Question: Why was Hal mad and blamed Gabe for Sarah's death? It wasn't his fault. Also, how did Sarah get to that height at the beginning of the movie with no climbing experience? I mean, I can barely climb an indoor climbing wall, but she can climb a mountain like a walk in the park. (02:16:00 - 02:16:35)

Answer: There was no realistic reason. First, the steel buckle on the safety harness would never just bend and break like that. The accident was not Gabe's fault, but Hal is supposedly so angry and grief-stricken that he unfairly claims Gabe ignored his advice when rescuing her. The movie uses melodramatic plotting to contrive a conflict between the two men. It's also unrealistic that Sarah, an inexperienced climber, was able to make such a difficult climb, even with Hal's help. The movie had many plot holes.

raywest

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