DieHardwithaVengeance

Die Hard: With a Vengeance (1995)

I am afraid of the number three. It is the number of the war to end all wars (WWIII), which killed one of the best racers of all time (Dale Earnhart), and is usually the worst film in a film series. Should I watch this film, or skip out and re-watch Ernest Scared Stupid for the17th time?

Sigh.

Okay, I am gonna grin and bear it for y’all film fans out there, this is for you: a review of Die Hard with a Vengeance.

We are back in McClane’s home turf (the Big Apple), looking at the hot town, listening to some Lovin’ Spoonful, when an explosion rocks the block. Ins. Cobb (Larry Bryggman) receives a phone call from a merry lad named Simon. He wants to play a game of Simon Says with McClane. Instead of touching their hips, they go to a certain destination to prevent certain death from the game. They find John hung over, disheveled and an all around eye sore to civilization, to join the fun.

Simon says to hang in Harlem with a sandwich board proclaiming he hates African Americans, but uses another word, and is harassed by several thugs from down the block. Local shop owner Zeus (Samuel L. Jackson, a great sidekick to…well…anybody) aides the pawn, and is soon along for the festivities.

So, does Simon (Jeremy Irons) really want to play a sick version of a childhood favorite, or does he have an ulterior motive set in store for our protagonist?

Wow, after the disappointing second film, I figured the series was done for. Then, a blessing came down from God himself, in the form of John McTiernan. After several successes in a row, he swung for the fence, fouled the ball (Last Action Hero) and was up to bat with 2 & 2. The new pitcher was Carolco runners Vajna & Kassar, with the ball made by Jonathan Hensleigh backed with $90,000,000 of force. So did our famous batter manage to hit a home run?

In baseball terms, he hit a home rule triple.

An almost perfect play, but hitting short of pay dirt.

The acting is really great here, the direction is excellent and the action involving and exciting. But the screenplay is the major fault here. Starting of as a tense thriller that is very believable and Hitchcockian, at around the hour mark, it tends to fall into hardcore action mode and never letting up. I mean it isn’t poorly written, with some funny lines, a good story and characterizations, but I was expecting to be handed a two-hour thriller. Still, it is better than Steel, but then again, ain’t them all?

Being a threequel, it is one of the best of all threequels, and one of the best Die Hard films period, just don’t expect a film like number one.

3 out of 4

reviewed by Jake Scarberry