Die Hard with a Vengeance

The original of course, and this movie.Sure, it's a bit over-the-top, but so was the original.Probably the only Samuel Jackson movie that he does a great job in. He's much better as a serious actor than in movies where he's supposed to be humorous.There are lots of great lines in this movie, although the casual watcher is probably not going to catch them. This movie has no forced humor unlike every other movie you see these days. Looking at you Star Wars and Avengers.There is one scene that is a bit too gory, and I always skip over it, but it only lasts about 10 seconds. Otherwise it's normal Die Hard style violence, that is to say, there is a lot of graphic violence.I highly doubt Hollywood could make a movie this good these days. They wouldn't even be able to figure out the Harlem scene without watering it down. Instead they would show tons of male nudity, nothing offensive, and jokes thrown in every minute.This is a more realistic view of what humans are really like. John is practically an alcoholic that has a hard time making his boss and his wife happy. But he comes through when needed even though he didn't have to. Zeus is a hard working guy with deeply seated racial issues that he puts aside to save the city.The action sequences are mostly very well done. I imagine it was a ton of work to coordinate with all the different filming locations to complete the scenes. It was also probably very hard to cast so many tall Germans or Eastern Europeans. The aqueduct filming, the trucks, the subway, the sets built, the helicopters, the bridge, the ship, etc. Just tons and tons of coordination and hard work.The kind of effort put into this movie would be too much for a modern film studio. They would just put their budget into CGI instead. This movie is 27 years old and holds up better than any modern movie. Even the original holds up better and that's even older.

I have a lot of respect for Bruce Willis- and this movie drives home the point that a lot of his work is REALLY NATURAL and REALLY GREAT!! Movie arrived quickly!! Thanks!!

There are plans for "Die Hard 4: Die Hardest" for 2005, with Bruce Willis back for a fourth time and director John McTiernan back for a third as John McClane and his daughter become involved in yet another terrorist plot. I have high hopes for such a film because the "Die Hard" series has been one of the strongest in the action genre. Granted, the best of the bunch remains the original 1988 film, which is the standard by which all subsequent films in the genre have been judged: "Die Hard 2: Die Harder" was "Die Hard" in an airport and "Speed" was "Die Hard on a Bus," not to be confused with "Speed II" which was "Die Hard" and "Speed" on a boat. Apparently Willis only does these movies when he has one that thinks it will work, which would explain why "Die Hard with a Vengeance," the third film in the series, came out in 1995, five years after the sequel.The best thing that can be said about this movie is that it would have worked even if it was not a "Die Hard" movie. The idea that John McClane is once again on the outs with his wife (who never appears in the film) is getting stale and the idea that he is being targeted by this film's mysterious villain simply named Simon (Jeremy Irons) could just as easily have a different explanation than one that ties this film back to the original. In fact, what makes this third one a solid action film is that it does indeed go back to the original for two of its strongest elements. The first is the idea that the crime is a fairly complex robbery dressed up with a lot of distractions. The second is that McClane's character had a tenuous anchor with another person; in the original it was Reginald VelJohnson's Al Powell, although for most of the film it was merely by radio. That fault is rectified in this film with Willis given a strong co-star in Samuel L. Jackson's Zeus Carver. This time it is Jackson's character who suddenly finds himself in extraordinary circumstances, forced by some nut with a whole lot of bombs at his disposal to jump through a bizarre series of hoops.One of the key elements in the success of the "Die Hard" movies was that McClane managed to use his brains at opportune moments. That issue is forced to the extreme in this one as the voice at the other end of a long series of phone calls provides one deadly brainteaser after another. This allows the logic of the movie produce a series of stunts and action sequences as the two mismatched heroes race around New York City trying to avoiding anybody getting killed (including themselves). Willis and Jackson work well off of each other, helped by the fact there characters are not stupid, and that despite the yelling and screaming solving problems is the highest priority. We have seen all of these elements before from all the action/buddy movies that Hollywood has produced, and their success remains contingent on how much we like watching the two buddies do what they gotta do. The whole idea of these things is to provide a compelling thrill ride, and by that standard "Die Hard with a Vengeance" delivers.

I'm still pissed they never invited Samuel L. Jackson back for the franchise. Like, you would think this team up would pivot the series to even greater heights. John McTiernan needs to come back to Hollywood and show the rookies how it's done.

Dvd came with broken center mount, few scratches on dvd, but movie still played ok.

Classic. Love it!

Nice

Die Hard 3 is still an amazing action film. The best or second best in the series depending on how you look at it. It's sad the series became a joke after this, catering to the new generation with terribly soapy scripts and weak acting. This one is actually for real. McTiernan was brought back on board after the little bit over the top nature of D2 and he brings a nice subtlety here that was missing in the second go around without dousing any major flames. Great acting all around with a good to great story that plays out pretty well in the end. Some elements are a little fantastic but it all comes down well in the end. I look at this as the last Die Hard. 4 was watered down entirely and 5 was embarrassing.The bluray transfer is pretty decent but probably could be better. It retains grain and has a pretty high bitrate, though likely comes from an older master. For the price you can't really go wrong. One of top two entries in the series and it isn't even debateable.