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.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.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.
Michael R. Aubele
- Ace
- (as Michael Aubele)
Karen Elise Baldwin
- TV Director
- (as Karen Baldwin)
Jophery C. Brown
- Wootton
- (as Jophery Brown)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAccording to writer Randy Feldman, he wrote the first draft of the screenplay for the movie as a comedy/action movie parody. The only scene that remained in the finished film was the scene where Van Damme fights the penguin mascot. The original vision for this movie would become the basis for the remake Welcome to Sudden Death (2020).
- GoofsA helicopter's lift is always in a direction nearly parallel to the rotor axis, so it cannot come close to maintaining a position where its nose is straight up. In such a position it would move violently sideways (the rotor leading) and fall rapidly.
- Quotes
Play-by-Play Announcer: It's so loud in here, I can barely hear myself think.
Color Commentator: You don't have to think, Mike. It's hockey.
- ConnectionsEdited into Best in Show (2000)
- SoundtracksRock And Roll, Part II
Written by Gary Glitter, Mike Leander
Performed by Gary Glitter
Courtesy of Laurence Myers Limited
Featured review
A typical Van Damme outing in "Sudden Death"
It seems that every Hollywood action heavyweight has to have their "Die Hard" moment, and 1995's "Sudden Death" was Belgian martial arts sensation Jean-Claude Van Damme's contribution. Basically "Die Hard on Ice," "Sudden Death" is slickly polished and photographed nicely & directed by Van Damme's "Timecop" (1994) director Peter Hyams, but that's about it - despite a few well-executed action sequences and special effects.
During Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals, fire marshal Darren McCord (Van Damme), a former Pittsburgh firefighter traumatized by his inability to save a young girl from a deadly house fire two years earlier, takes his two children to watch the hockey game. Also in attendance, is the vice president of the United States (Raymond J. Barry); and a crack team of terrorists led by Joshua Foss (the late Powers Boothe), a disgruntled former Secret Service operative who has taken the VP and 10 others hostage in the owner's box and wants two billion dollars in frozen funds from enemy nations to be wired to 13 bank accounts of his choice.
The gist of it is, is that the government has until the end of each inning to transfer one-third of the money, or else Foss will execute a hostage. If at the end of the game his demands still are not met, he will blow up the Civic Arena with strategically placed explosives and kill everyone inside it. Only a one-man army, Darren McCord, can stop them.
"Sudden Death" has the usual shoot-outs, explosions, martial arts showdowns (including Van Damme's hilarious fight with Foss's henchwoman, disguised as the Pittsburgh Penguins' mascot, in the Arena's kitchen) and thrilling foot-chases, but that's about it. It's pretty typical and by-the-numbers stuff that doesn't offer anything new to a tired and worn-out premise.
On the plus side, Powers Boothe makes for a truly memorable bad guy with a cold and efficient manner and a no-nonsense approach, as well as a black-hearted sense of humor. Boothe provides some of the film's best lines and gets some of the most memorable moments, too. He is really what keeps the movie going.
All in all, "Sudden Death" is a good way to kill 111 minutes of your Saturday afternoon.
6/10
During Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals, fire marshal Darren McCord (Van Damme), a former Pittsburgh firefighter traumatized by his inability to save a young girl from a deadly house fire two years earlier, takes his two children to watch the hockey game. Also in attendance, is the vice president of the United States (Raymond J. Barry); and a crack team of terrorists led by Joshua Foss (the late Powers Boothe), a disgruntled former Secret Service operative who has taken the VP and 10 others hostage in the owner's box and wants two billion dollars in frozen funds from enemy nations to be wired to 13 bank accounts of his choice.
The gist of it is, is that the government has until the end of each inning to transfer one-third of the money, or else Foss will execute a hostage. If at the end of the game his demands still are not met, he will blow up the Civic Arena with strategically placed explosives and kill everyone inside it. Only a one-man army, Darren McCord, can stop them.
"Sudden Death" has the usual shoot-outs, explosions, martial arts showdowns (including Van Damme's hilarious fight with Foss's henchwoman, disguised as the Pittsburgh Penguins' mascot, in the Arena's kitchen) and thrilling foot-chases, but that's about it. It's pretty typical and by-the-numbers stuff that doesn't offer anything new to a tired and worn-out premise.
On the plus side, Powers Boothe makes for a truly memorable bad guy with a cold and efficient manner and a no-nonsense approach, as well as a black-hearted sense of humor. Boothe provides some of the film's best lines and gets some of the most memorable moments, too. He is really what keeps the movie going.
All in all, "Sudden Death" is a good way to kill 111 minutes of your Saturday afternoon.
6/10
helpful•30
- dee.reid
- Jan 18, 2020
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Cái Chết Bất Ngờ
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $35,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $20,350,171
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $4,782,445
- Dec 25, 1995
- Gross worldwide
- $64,350,171
- Runtime1 hour 51 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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