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Die Hard With a Vengeance
(Die Hard 3) failed to retrieve anyone from the original cast save
for Willis, but it reintroduces the intelligent and interesting
villain that the second film sorely lacked, and retains the same
high level of action, violence and humor. More than the first two,
Die Hard 3 increases the verbal comedy with the addition of Samuel
L. Jackson, who magnificently plays off of Willis’ smart mouth
with witty interjections of his own. Despite the fact that the original
Die Hard is perhaps the finest action film ever made, Die Hard with
a Vengeance holds true to the themes introduced in its near-perfect
predecessor.
A mysterious terrorist blows up a building in Los Angeles and then demands that John McClane (Bruce Willis) be taken to Harlem to follow rather life-threatening instructions or another building will be destroyed. Calling himself Simon (Jeremy Irons), the bomber is quickly identified as Simon Krieg, the brother of Hans Gruber, who McClane dumped off a skyscraper in the first film. McClane is teamed up with Zeus (Samuel L. Jackson) who saves him from the mind games of Simon’s vicious stunt in Harlem. Continuing to play Simon’s deadly slew of riddles and clues, McClane eventually discovers that it may all be just a diversion to smuggle tons of gold bricks out of the Federal Reserve. Playing against time and the threat of a bomb planted in an L.A. school, McClane must use every resource to defeat the deceptive terrorist. |
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Now a burned out and
worn out cop on suspension, Willis’ McClane has a more carefree,
less determined outlook on vigilantism, yet he is still the only
one intelligent enough to solve the crime. Drawing him into his
games, Simon is apparently not familiar with McClane’s ingenious
tactics from the first two films. McClane is still very much a hero
even though his appearance has drifted into the anti-hero side of
the spectrum. Added to the fray is Samuel L. Jackson who perfectly
balances and complements Willis’ gung-ho warrior. Jackson
brings a certain level of dark humor to the film with his constant
sarcastic and cynical quips, although the script surprisingly never
goes overboard. A buddy-cop feel is also instilled because they
depend on one another to survive and share nearly equal screen time.
Not as lighthearted or comical as Lethal Weapon, the pairing is
still highly entertaining.
The villain Simon Gruber is a step in the right direction, improving vastly from the second film. However it seems that no one can top Alan Rickman's Gruber, and while Jeremy Irons is memorable, he is surrounded by dreadfully stereotypical henchmen, including the psychotic blonde with an uncontrollable desire for bloodshed. The action is impressive, and the suspense is even greater due to the riddles and the race-against-time element introduced with bombs rapidly counting down. Car chases, fistfights and gun battles keep things in motion, and the plot itself is surprisingly complex. Most often the stories behind action films are bland and serve merely as a backdrop for ridiculous stunt sequences piled back to back, but with a little deception, double-crossing and misguidance, the audience gets to solve the mysteries alongside McClane. The Christmas theme is completely dissolved this time around, but the “Yipee Ki Yay” is still at the ready. Fast-paced, utterly thrilling, and with a tinge of racial comedy from Samuel Jackson’s smart-mouthed sidekick, Die Hard with a Vengeance packs as much punch as the second, and supersedes it in its welcome complexity and intriguing villain power. No one can argue that waiting for the inevitably “hard” deaths of the villains is an entertaining event and thanks are in order to the return of director John McTiernan and his explosive vision for this classic action trilogy. - Mike Massie
Die Hard |
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