30 years ago,Bruce Willisslipped back into his biggest role, John McClane, for a movie that would take the franchise in an exciting, new direction.Die Hard With a Vengeancewas initially met with mixed-to-positive reception from critics, butit became one of the highest-grossing films of 1995, and in the years following, it has been largely accepted as the greatest sequel in theDie Hardfranchise.
The original film is a near-insurmountable piece of action filmmaking, butDie Hard With a Vengeancecomes pretty close to the marvelous, tightly constructed first film, with the added benefit ofSamuel L. Jacksonteaming up with Willis for a dynamite on-screen pairing. The subsequent sequels, which are far less successful, have proven thatthis third entry did not get its critical due at the time.
‘Die Hard With a Vengeance’ Makes Perfect Use of Its Sprawling New York City Setting
The originalDie Hardwas so innovative and refreshing that it established an archetype for later action films to follow.SpeedisDie Hardon a bus,Con AirisDie Hardon a plane, etc. But unfortunately, this formulaic trend (which gave way to some great films in their own right) spilled into the franchise itself withDie Hard 2, a film that essentially retools the structure and narrative of the first film, but this time in an airport instead of a skyscraper.Renny Harlin’s sequel is perfectly fine. But it feels stale compared to the original, especially without the greatAlan Rickmanchewing the scenery as Hans Gruber.
The formula was thrown out forDie Hard With a Vengeance,a sequel defined by its sprawling action, rather than a self-contained, claustrophobic setting.John McTiernan, returning to the director’s chair from the first film, brings John McClane to New York City, his home territory, for a widespread action film that takes full advantage of its New York setting. The basic premise of Simon, portrayed with villainous glee byJeremy Irons, handing out riddles to McClane, results in an intricate and extremely high-stakes scavenger hunt through New York. Bombs are planted throughout the city, and McClane has limited amounts of time to arrive at each location and solve some sort of puzzle or thought exercise to abort the bombing. McClane, who is introduced as an NYPD cop in the first film, is never seen doing any work in New York throughoutDie HardorDie Hard 2, as both films involve him traveling to meet his wife.Die Hard With a Vengeancefinally shows us McClane in his home base, andthe film makes glorious use of NYC landmarks and iconic locationssuch as the Central Park taxi chase and the subway bombing sequence, to name a couple of examples.
Part of the reasonDie Hard With a Vengeancefeels like a fresh take on the franchise is thatit was not originally written as aDie Hardsequel. The film began as a spec script titled “Simon Says,” and even after it was optioned by a major studio, it was intended to be retooled into aLethal Weaponsequel by Warner Bros. This plan fell apart, and Warner let it go over to 20th Century Fox, where the story was rewritten into aDie Hardfilm. This also came after an initial story idea for a thirdDie Hardwas abandoned, and eventually became the basis forSpeed 2: Cruise Control.Considering how these scripts were shifted around from franchise to franchise in the 90s, it is a wonder that any of the movies feel distinctive at all. McTiernan and Willis certainly got their mojo back forDie Hard With a Vengeance, making a sequel that is not at all derivative of the original film, and yet just as exciting.
Samuel L. Jackson’s Working-Class Hero Pairs Well With Bruce Willis For a Hilarious Buddy-Cop Dynamic
Aside from a much-appreciated change of scenery,Die Hard With a Vengeancemakes a great choice to pair McClane up with an active participant in the action, instead of relying on a man-in-the-chair type working with him from a remote location. McClane teams up with a working-class man named Zeus, played by Jackson, who is roped into the terrorist plot unintentionally and has a perceived animosity toward white cops (can you blame him?). The racial dynamic is not exactly thoughtful and is probably the one element of the film that has not aged particularly well in the last 30 years. However,it is undeniably funny watching Jackson and Willis trade jabs at each other, and Jackson brings a ton of life to the franchise.
Zeus is a major piece of why this movie stands as the bestDie Hardsequel, as Jackson has a charisma that is on par with Willis', something none of the other movies ever contend with.The animus relationship that eventually develops into mutual respect and even friendship is key toDie HardWith a Vengeance’s success. Willis is a big enough star to carry his own movie, without a doubt, but who doesn’t enjoy seeing an electrifying movie-star pairing like Willis and Jackson on screen?
As a two-hander in thebuddy-cop style of action movies, and an expansive, explosive variation on theDie Hardformula that had already been wrung dry by other films,Die Hard With a Vengeanceis a bold and exciting change of pace.Willis and McTiernan struck gold twice with this franchise, and Jackson’s firecracker performance is just what the film needed to move to the next level. 30 years on,Die Hard With a Vengeanceis rightly remembered as one of the best action sequels, and a movie that truly lives up to the iconic status of the original.
Die Hard: With a Vengeance
John McClane and a Harlem store owner are targeted by German terrorist Simon in New York City, where he plans to rob the Federal Reserve Building.
