Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995) – Review

The hope that we’ll get another new Die Hard movie which is worth watching seems to getting smaller as the movies (and the acting Bruce Willis does) are getting worse. Still the the original Die Hard movie and this third film in this franchise have gained a special place in my heart. They are wonderful, entertaining action movies in which the main characters end up in a situation which they can’t control and are forced to do anything to make the best of it with the means available.

The movie opens with a big explosion, in the middle of New York, in which a man who calls himself Simon calls the police and demands that John McClane (Bruce Willis) has to walk around in Harlem wearing a sign. The text on the sign is extremely racist and the chance that McClane will survive are small. He is saved by Zeus Carver (Samuel L. Jackson) and the two are forced to work together and execute the assignments Simon gives them. If they refuse to do so a bomb will be detonated somewhere in New York at a school.

 The film is directed by John McTiernan, who also sat in the director’s chair for the original (and other films like Predator, Last Action Hero and The Hunt for Red October). He is able to bring the story to the screen beautifully and that means a lot of spectacle. Whether it’s a wild ride through Central Park or the chaos of a subway train derailing, you can feel the adrenaline pumping in your body. The script of the movie was originally intended for the fourth Lethal Weapon film and that’s an interesting thought. It explains why McClane and Zeus are forced to stay together for the movie. Samuel L. Jackson once again plays a fantastic role (the man can’t do no wrong) and Willis is convincing as McClane. Jeremy Irons is also fantastic in the role of Simon and gives the series another great bas guy after Alan Rickman’s Hans Gruber. This is certainly not the first time I saw it, but after a rewatch it still holds up.