Die Hard with a Vengeance
Year: 1995
Rating: R
Length: 128 minutes / 2.13 hours
It’s interesting to go back and see certain points in a movie franchise where you could tell that they were already running out of ideas. I still think Die Hard (1988) is a fantastic action movie, and it’s almost its own genre of action films. Movies falling into the “Die Hard on a/in a [BLANK]” category have since cemented its cultural significance. As of right now, the only Die Hard I haven’t seen is Die Hard 2 (1990), but Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995) marks where the franchise departs from its roots.
I will say that the casting for this movie was quite delightful, with excellent performances by Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, and Jeremy Irons. I can also appreciate how this film tried to tie back to the original by using the original director and the fantastic work of Irons’ antagonist. Action-wise, it’s what you’d expect from a movie in the Die Hard franchise. A few adequate set pieces and an OK plot round out the positives for this movie. Of course, the franchise started leaning in on the ridiculous nature of these scenarios in this movie, and it shows.
Some may say this movie was where Die Hard jumped the shark. Others likely point to its PG-13 sequel that came out a decade later—Live Free or Die Hard (2007). I’d point out that the first two Die Hard movies (or what I know of the second one) have very singular locations. Either John McClane is trapped in an office building or on a plane, not running around New York or Washington D.C. trying to single-handedly save the day (with the help of a one-time sidekick, of course). Ultimately, Die Hard with a Vengeance marks a shift to larger settings to match its increased budget but at the cost of forgetting its roots.
A well-acted Die Hard movie that adjusts the series’ formula, I give Die Hard with a Vengeance 3.5 stars out of 5.
1/2
