Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995)

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.

Director:

John McTiernan

Writers:

Jonathan Hensleigh, Roderick Thorp (certain original characters by)

Stars:

Bruce Willis, Jeremy Irons, Samuel L. Jackson

2 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bruce Willis	...	John McClane
Jeremy Irons	...	Simon
Samuel L. Jackson	...	Zeus
Graham Greene	...	Joe Lambert
Colleen Camp	...	Connie Kowalski
Larry Bryggman	...	Arthur Cobb
Anthony Peck	...	Ricky Walsh
Nick Wyman	...	Targo
Sam Phillips	...	Katya
Kevin Chamberlin	...	Charles Weiss
Sharon Washington	...	Officer Jane
Stephen Pearlman	...	Dr. Schiller
Michael Alexander Jackson	...	Dexter
Aldis Hodge	...	Raymond
Mischa Hausserman	...	Mischa

Storyline

John McClane is now almost a full-blown alcoholic and is suspended from the NYPD. But when a bomb goes off in the Bonwit Teller Department Store the police go insane trying to figure out what's going on. Soon, a man named Simon calls and asks for McClane. Simon tells Inspector Walter Cobb that McClane is going to play a game called "Simon Says". He says that McClane is going to do the tasks he assigns him. If not, he'll set off another bomb. With the help of a Harlem electrician, John McClane must race all over New York trying to figure out the frustrating puzzles that the crafty terrorist gives him. But when a bomb goes off in a subway station right by the Federal Reserve (the biggest gold storage in the world) things start to get heated.

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Plot Keywords:

john mcclane character | time bomb | good versus evil | motor car | weapon | 

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Taglines:

It's boometime in the big apple

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence and pervasive strong language

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the original Die Hard (1988), the villains are assumed to be terrorists, but turn out to be thieves. In Die Hard 2 (1990), the villains are assumed to be (luggage) thieves, but turn out to be terrorists. Here, the villains turn out to be terrorists AND thieves. The subsequent sequels do not follow this formula.

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Goofs

The amount of time that passes after John and Zeus catch the ship passing under the bridge with the winch from the jeep and the time they shimmy down the cable would have killed them from the fall; there is no way they could survive the 200-foot fall, land on their backs as shown and walk away, let alone survived.

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Quotes

[McClane and Zeus break into a car]
John McClane: You know how to hot-wire this thing?
Zeus: Of course I can, I'm an electrician. Only problem is...
[Zeus starts the ignition with his pliers]
Zeus: it takes too fuckin' long.

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Alternate Versions

The original release of the UK DVD version in 1999 was actually even more cut than the British video and cinema versions. Because the content did not exactly match the officially classified version, this much-sanitized release fell foul of British censorship laws, and was withdrawn.

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Connections

Referenced in Max Payne (2001)

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Soundtracks

Got It Going On
Written by Ted Silbert and RIC-HARD
Performed by Ted Silbert and RIC-HARD
Silbert Music (ASCAP) and Hic Town Underground (ASCAP)
Produced by Eric Harryman & Ted Silbert

User Reviews

Fast-paced and action-packed

This is definitely the grittiest of all the 3 Die Hard films. John Mclane is now a drunk, he's separated from his family, living in New York, and to make matters worse a terrorist calling himself "Simon" is out for revenge on Mclane. Mclane, and everyone else, has absolutely no idea why.

The first 2 films are superior to this one since this has a lot of changes from the mood that made the others so great. First off, it's not set on Christmas. No biggie though. Secondly, there are too many complications and twists to the plot. You almost have to take notes. And thirdly, the biggest change is that it's now turned into a buddy movie to the style of Lethal Weapon, since Samuel L. Jackson as Zeus unwillingly teams up with John Mclane. They're complete opposites, they argue, and they become friends. That sort of stuff.

Die Hard: With A Vengeance still stays true to it's amazing action scenes, though. There's plenty of explosions, there's floods, and overall general destruction. It's a different kind of movie, yes. But it's a good different kind of movie.

My rating: 9/10

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English German Romanian

Release Date:

19 May 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die Hard: New York

Filming Locations:

Ray's Candy Store, 113 Avenue A, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$90,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$22,162,245, 21 May 1995

Gross USA:

$100,012,499

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$366,101,666

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinergi Pictures Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1