DIE HARD
With a Vengeance (1995)

Cast:	Bruce Willis, Jeremy Irons, Samuel L. Jackson
Director:	John McTiernan
Producers:	John McTiernan, Michael Tadross
Screenplay:	Jonathon Hensleigh
Cinematography:	Peter Menzies
Music:	Michael Kamen
Approximate Running Time:	128 minutes
Warnings:	Swearing, semi-nudity, violence
Rating:

Category: Action/Crime

The Plot: Drunk, rejected, somewhat separated and on his way out, Lt. John McClane is suddenly requested for a game of 'Simon Says' by a terrorist hell-bent on blowing up New York bit by bit. NYPD reluctantly call in McClane who's first bout of Simon Says is to suicidely walk the streets of Harlem wearing a sign denouncing the native population... As McClane ricochets from one suicidal mission to another, all with the aim of preventing the deaths of innocent New Yorkers, the NYPD struggle to find out who 'Simon' is and prevent him from blowing up other things. Of course, in the end, it's down to McClane to save New York...

Comment: Bif! Bow! Bam! It's Batman with a hangover and bombs! Plot: barely there. Acting: no definable benchmarks in this movie. Stunts: Checked your pacemaker is working fine? Special Effects: Have you got your sunglasses on? Welcome to Die Hard 3 - another plotless action/adventure where Bruce Willis sleepwalks through shards of flying glass with the only aim of getting increasingly large amount of blood all over him and kill the baddies.

Since this reviewer is not a big fan of Bruce Willis - need one say this is just another film where Bruce Willis plays... Bruce Willis - the tough guy with the heart of a marshmallow. Since that is a rather generic role which Willis plays remarkably well, he manages to make the largely nonsensical movie something worth watching - if channel-surfing late at night with nothing better on any other channel. Samuel L. Jackson, the reluctant sidekick, fairs marginally better, although even he can't redeem the fact his role is rather weak and even vaguely unnecessary. Afterall, McClane saved an entire building by himself in the original Die Hard... Jeremy Irons is not as powerful as the brother of the smooth criminal, Hans Gruber (played by Alan Rickman in the original Die Hard). Besides, what is the deal with casting eminent British actors as Germans with bad English accents??? The rest of the cast making up the cope in this film are just dreadful and chronically cliched - something comparable to January Man.

Even action fans should be vaguely disappointed by this mediocre attempt to cash in on the success of the original Die Hard. Ultimately, this movie s fine to watch mindlessly on TV late at night, but it is not recommended you even waste your money getting it on video or DVD...