Sudden Death (1995)

A former fireman takes on a group of terrorists holding the Vice President and others hostage during the seventh game of the NHL Stanley Cup finals.

Director:

Peter Hyams

Writers:

Karen Elise Baldwin (story) (as Karen Baldwin), Gene Quintano (screenplay)

Stars:

Jean-Claude Van Damme, Powers Boothe, Raymond J. Barry

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jean-Claude Van Damme	...	Darren McCord
Powers Boothe	...	Joshua Foss
Raymond J. Barry	...	Vice President
Whittni Wright	...	Emily McCord
Ross Malinger	...	Tyler McCord
Dorian Harewood	...	Hallmark
Kate McNeil	...	Kathi
Michael Gaston	...	Hickey
Audra Lindley	...	Mrs. Ferrara
Brian Delate	...	Blair
Steve Aronson	...	Dooley
Michael R. Aubele	...	Ace (as Michael Aubele)
Karen Elise Baldwin	...	TV Director (as Karen Baldwin)
Jennifer D. Bowser	...	Joan
Pat Brisson	...	Player #2

Storyline

Some terrorists kidnap the Vice President of the United States and threaten to blow up the entire stadium during the final game of the NHL Stanley Cup. There is only one way and one man to stop them...

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Plot Keywords:

hockey | terrorist | vice president | explosive | hostage | 

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Taglines:

Action goes into overtime

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for a substantial amount of strong violence, and for language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 December 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Muerte súbita

Filming Locations:

1016 Fritz Street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures,Signature Entertainment,Imperial Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

DTS DTS-Stereo Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

It is set and filmed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Middletown, New York in 98 days on August 29 and December 7, 1994.

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Goofs

The break before the start of overtime is shown as a brief intermission with the teams on the benches, which is correct for the regular NHL season. However, in a tied playoff game, the teams head to their locker rooms for a normal length intermission. The Penguins probably would have noticed that their locker room had been riddled with bullets and the bodies of a few bad guys on the floor.

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Quotes

2nd Hostage: [in the Vice President's box-suite, one of Foss's hostages is having a seizure of some kind. Another hostage is examining the first] ... This man needs a doctor!
Joshua Foss: [walks over and guns down the ailing first hostage] ... Not anymore.

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Connections

Referenced in Cascadeur (1998)

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Soundtracks

Rock And Roll, Part II
Written by Gary Glitter, Mike Leander
Performed by Gary Glitter
Courtesy of Laurence Myers Limited

User Reviews

Ice ice baby.

Darren McCord, a fire safety officer at a hockey stadium, takes his two kids to a major Pittsburgh Penguins game. It just so happens to be the day that extortionist/thieves kidnap the vice president and hold him hostage at the stadium, thus putting himself and his children in mortal danger.

Lets cut to the chase here, Sudden Death is a clone rip off of Die Hard, the action template movie that shines as bright as a newly formed bruise, but as copycats go {and there have been reams}, Peter Hyams' beefcake blunderbuss movie is an action junkie's delight. Jean Claude Van Damme {McCord obviously} flexes his muscles and not only beats seven bells of tar out of Powers Booth's criminal minions, he also proves to be a hero and loving father to his oblivious children. It's contrived for sure, I mean we get Jean sneaking on to the ice and taking up net minding duties, and it's certainly a script devoid of imagination. But it's got Van Damme fighting a hot kick ass babe in a penguin suit and a last fifteen minutes of high roof/dangling/swinging/exploding mayhem that does the action genre proud.

It's no Die Hard, but what genre films are? Sudden Death in spite of its contrivances, is a film that is impossible not to enjoy if you are a like minded adult. 7/10